THE  NOVELS  OF 


■.•^■/■-•c.r*< 


JORNSTJERNE  BJORNSON 


UC-NRLF 


nil  11  III 


$B    MfiM    "121 


r:  ^»  .'-"'^  > 


THE  NOVELS  OF 

BJORNSTJERNE  BJORNSON 

Edited  by  EDMUND  GOSSE 
VOLUME  m 


THE  NOVELS  OF 

BJORNSTJERNE  BJORNSON 

Edited  by  EDMUND  GOSSE 

Synnove  Solbakken 

Ante 

A  Happy  Boy 

The  Fisher  Lass 

The  Bridal  March,  &  A  Day 

Magnhild,  &  Dust 

Captain  Mansana,  &  Mother's  Hands 

Absalom's  Hair,  &  A  Painful  Memory 

In  God's  Way     (2  vols.) 

The  Heritage  of  the  Kuris    (2  vols.) 

NEW  YORK 
THE  M  ACM  ILL  AN  COMPANY 


A  HAPPY  BOY 


BY 

BJORNSTJERNE   BJORNSON 

Translated  from  the  Norwegian 
By  Mrs.   W.  ARCHER 


i  >  >  '. 


>   J  i      '  ,      ' 


>    >    ,   J  .      ■    -  i      -  > 


^       }         JO  ' 


NEW  YORK  i 

THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY  \ 

1917  ] 


i 


Uniform  Edition 

First  published  February  i8g6 

New  Impressions  February  igog, 

August  igi3t  September  jgi^ 


'^TPi^LrSH  I 


Printed  in  Great  Britain 


K 


isi(^ 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE 

[A  Happy  Boy  was  originally  published  in  the  Chris- 
tiania  newspaper  "  Aftenbladetj"  1859-60.  Later  on,  in 
1860,  it  was  printed  in  a  revised  form  at  the  close  of  the 
collected  volume  called  '^  Smaastykker"  ("Small  Pieces  "\ 
issued  at  Bergen.  It  has  never  appeared  in  the  original 
as  an  independent  publication.  The  story  was  begun  in 
Christiania  in  1858,  and  ^nished  at  Sogne  Parsonage  in 
1859. 

A    Swedish    translation    was   published    in    1862,  and. 

another  in  Finnish  in  the  same  year.     A  Dutch  versiofi, 

without  date,  is  said  to  have  appear^  still  earlier.     The 

earliest  English  translation  was  printed  in  1869,  and  the 

story  has   always  been  a  great  favourite  in  this  country. 

There  are  versimts  in  French^  German,  Icelandic,  Croatian 

and  other  languages. 

E.G.] 


4    »■;,   , 


A    HAPPY    BOY 


CHAPTER   I 

He  was  called  Eyvind,  and  he  cried  when  he 
was  born.  But  as  soon  as  he  could  sit  up  on 
his  mother's  knee  he  laughed ;  and  when  they 
lighted  the  candle  at  evening,  he  laughed  till 
the  place  rang  again,  but  cried  when  he  could 
not  get  to  it. 

**This  boy  will  be  something  out  of  the 
common/'  said  his  mother. 

A  bare  rock  frowned  over  the  house  where 
he  was  born,  but  it  was  not  high ;  fir  and  birch 
trees  looked  down  from  its  brow,  and  the  wild 
cherry  strewed  blossoms  on  the  roof.  A  little 
goat  which  belonged  to  Eyvind  roamed  about  the 
roof;  he  had  to  be  kept  up  there  lest  he  should 


-^  <   ■   ..   .     < 

"^       ^       '      '    /  .     r         £ 
*  '    f        c       <  r 


f-     r 

t      c 


w    '  A   HAPPY   BOY 


-      *     *  r  J    t 


Stray,  and  Eyvind  carried  leaves  and  grass  up 
to  him.  One  fine  day  the  goat  hopped  over 
and  away  up  the  rock ;  he  went  straight  ahead 
and  came  to  a  place  where  he  had  never 
been  before.  Eyvind  could  not  see  the  goat 
when  he  came  out  after  tea,  and  thought  at  once 
of  the  fox.  He  got  hot  all  over,  looked  about, 
and  called :  "  Goatie-goatie,  and  goatie-wee  ! " 

"  Ba-a-a-a ! "  said  the  goat  up  on  the  hillside, 
looking  down  with  his  head  on  one  side. 

But  a  little  girl  was  kneeling  beside  the 
goat. 

"  Is  he  your  goat  ?  "  she  asked. 

Eyvind  stood  with  open  mouth  and  eyes,  and 
thrust  both  hands  into  the  pockets  of  his  little 
breeches. 

"  Who  are  you  ?  "  he  asked. 

**  I  am  Marit,  mother's  baby,  father's  mouse, 
little  fairy  in  the  house,  grand-daughter  of  Ole 
Nordistuen  of  the  hill-farms,  four  years  old  in 
autumn,  two  days  after  the  first  frost-nights, 
I  am  I " 

"  Are  you  though  ?  "  said  he,  drawing  a  long 


A   HAPPY   BOY 

breath,  for  he  had  not  ventured  to  breathe 
whilst  she  was  speaking. 

*'  Is  he  your  goat  ?  "  asked  the  girl  again. 

"  Yes/'  said  he,  looking  up. 

**  I've  taken  such  a  fancy  to  the  goat.  Will 
you  not  give  him  to  me  ?  " 

"  No,  indeed,  I  won't." 

She  lay  kicking  her  legs  about  and  looking 
down  at  him,  and  then  she  said : 

"  If  I  were  to  give  you  a  butter-cake  for  the 
goat,  mightn't  I  have  him  then  ?  " 

Eyvind  belonged  to  poor  folks ;  he  had  eaten 
butter-cake  only  once  in  his  Hfe,  that  was  when 
grandfather  came  to  see  them,  and  he  had  never 
tasted  the  like  before  nor  since.  He  looked  up 
at  the  girl. 

*'  Let  me  see  the  cake  first,"  said  he.  With- 
out waiting  to  be  asked  twice,  she  showed  him 
a  large  cake  which  she  held  in  her  hand. 

*'  Here  it  is ! "  said  she,  and  threw  it  down. 

*'0h,  it's  all  gone  to  pieces,"  said  the  boy, 
and  he  carefully  gathered  up  every  bit.  He 
couldn't   help  just   tasting   the  smallest,  and  it 

3 


/. 


A   HAPPY   BOY 

was  SO  good  that  he  had  to  taste  one  bit  more ; 
and  before  he  knew  what  he  was  about  he  had 
eaten  up  the  whole  cake. 

*'  Now  the  goat  is  mine,"  said  the  girl. 

The  boy  stopped  short  with  the  last  bit  in 
his  mouth,  the  girl  lay  and  laughed,  the  goat 
with  his  white  breast  and  dark  fleece  stood  by 
her,  looking  down  sideways. 

"  Couldn't  you  wait  a  bit  ?  "  begged  the  boy ; 
his  heart  began  to  throb  within  him.  Then  the 
girl  laughed  yet  more  and  started  up  to  her 
knees. 

*^No,  no,  the  goat  is  mine,"  said  she,  and 
flung  her  arms  about  its  neck ;  then  she  loosed 
a  garter  and  made  a  halter  of  it.  Eyvind  stood 
and  looked  on.  She  rose  and  began  to  drag 
the  goat ;  it  would  not  go  with  her  but  stretched 
its  neck  down  towards  Eyvind.  "Ba-a-a-al** 
it  said. 

But  she  caught  hold  of  its  fleece  with  one 
hand,  pulled  at  the  garter  with  the  other,  and 
said  prettily : 

*'  Come  goatie  dear,  you  shall  come   indoors 

4 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

and  eat  out  of  mother's  nice  dish  and  out  of  my 
apron/'  and  then  she  sang : 

Come,  goat,  to  your  sire, 

Come,  calf,  from  the  byre  ; 

Come,  pussy,  that  mews 

In  your  snowy-white  shoes  ; 

Come,  ducklings  so  yellow, 

Come,  chickens  so  small. 

Each  soft  little  fellow 

That  can't  run  at  all ; 

Come,  sweet  doves  of  mine. 

With  your  feathers  so  fine  ! 

The  turf's  wet  with  dew. 

But  the  sun  warms  it  through. 
It  is  early,  right  early,  in  summer-time  still, 
But  call  on  the  autumn,  and  hurry  it  will. 

The  boy  was  left  alone.  He  had  played 
with  the  goat  ever  since  it  was  born  in  the 
winter,  and  it  had  never  occurred  to  him  that  it 
could  be  lost;  but  now  it  was  done  all  in  a 
moment,  and  he  was  never  to  see  it  again. 

His  mother  came  singing  up  from  the  water- 
side with  some  vessels  she  had  been  scouring  ; 
she  saw  the  boy  sitting  crying,  with  his  legs 
under  him  in  the  grass,  and  went  to  him. 

**  What  are  you  crying  for  ?  " 

**  Oh,  the  goat,  the  goat ! " 

I 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

**  Well,  where  is  the  goat  ? "  asked  his 
mother  looking  up  on  the  roof. 

**  He'll  never  come  back/'  said  the  boy. 

"  Why,  what  has  happened  to  him  ?  " 

He  would  not  confess  at  once. 

"  Has  the  fox  taken  him  ?  " 

*'  Oh,  I  wish  it  were  the  fox ! " 

**Are  you  out  of  your  senses?"  said  his 
mother.     "  What  has  become  of  the  goat  ?  " 

*'  Oh,  oh,  oh  ! — I've  been  so  unlucky — I've 
sold  him  for  a  butter-cake  ! " 

Even  as  he  said  the  words  he  realised  what 
it  was  to  sell  the  goat  for  a  butter-cake ;  he 
had  not  thought  of  it  before.  His  mother 
said : 

*'What  do  you  suppose  the  little  goat  thinks 
of  you,  since  you  could  go  and  sell  him  for  a 
butter-cake  ?  " 

The  boy  himself  thought  of  it,  and  realised 

very  clearly  that  he  could  never  be  happy  again 

in  this  world,  nor  even  with  God  in  heaven,  he 

thought  afterwards. 

He  was  so  heart-broken    that    he    resolved 

6 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

Within  himself  never  again  to  do  anything 
wrong,  neither  to  cut  the  thread  on  the  distaff, 
nor  to  let  the  ewes  out  of  the  fold,  nor  to  go 
down  to  the  lake  alone.  He  fell  asleep  there 
where  he  lay  and  dreamt  that  the  goat  had  gone 
to  heaven. 

There  sat  Our  Lord  with  a  long  beard,  just  as 
He  was  in  the  catechism,  and  the  goat  stood 
eating  the  leaves  of  a  shining  tree ;  but  Ey vind 
sat  on  the  roof  alone  and  could  not  get  up 
to  him. 

At  that  moment  something  wet  poked  right 
into  his  ear  ;  he  started  up. 

^*  Ba-a-a-a ! "  said  a  voice ;  and  there  was  the 
goat  come  back. 

*'  Oh,  you've  come  back !  you've  come  back/' 

He  jumped  up,  took  hold  of  his  two  forelegs 
and  danced  with  him  like  a  brother ;  he  pulled 
his  beard,  and  he  was  just  going  to  take  him 
right  in  to  his  mother,  when  he  heard  something 
behind  him  and  saw  the  girl  sitting  on  the  grass 
iust  by  his  side.  Now  he  understood  it  all, 
and  he  let  go  his  hold  of  the  goat, 

7 


A    HAPPY    BOf 

"  Is  it  you  that  have  come  with  him  ?  "  She 
sat  tearing  up  grass  with  her  hand  and  said : 

"  I  wasn't  allowed  to  keep  him  j  grandfather 
is  sitting  up  there  waiting." 

As  the  boy  stood  looking  at  her  he  heard  a 
sharp  voice  up  on  the  road  calling : 

"  Well ! " 

Then  she  remembered  what  she  had  to  do. 
She  rose  and  went  up  to  Eyvind,  laid  one  earth- 
stained  hand  in  his  and  said : 

*•  Forgive  me  !  " 

Then  her  resolution  failed  her,  and  she  threw 
her  arms  round  the  goat  and  wept. 

"  I  think  you  had  better  keep  the  goat,"  said 
Eyvind,  looking  aw^ay. 

**  Be  quick  now  !  "  said  the  grandfather  up  on 
the  slope.  And  Marit  rose  and  walked  up  after 
him  with  dragging  feet. 

*' You've  forgotten  your  garter!"  Eyvind 
called  after  her.  She  turned  and  looked  first 
at  the  garter  and  then  at  him.  At  last  she 
formed  a  great  resolution  and  said  with  a  thick 
voice : 

8 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

"You  can  keep  that." 

He  went  up  to  her  and  took  her  hand.  "  I 
thank  you,"  said  he. 

"  Oh  that's  nothing  to  thank  me  for,"  she 
answered,  heaved  a  prodigiously  deep  sigh,  and 
went  on  her  way. 

He  sat  down  on  the  grass  again  with  the 
goat  at  his  side ;  but  he  somehow  did  not  care 
for  it  so  much  as  before. 


CHAPTER  II 

The  goat  was  tethered  near  the  wall  of  the 
house,  but  Eyvind  kept  looking  up  the  hill- 
side. His  mother  came  out  and  sat  by  him  ; 
he  wanted  to  hear  tales  about  what  was  far 
away,  for  the  goat  was  no  longer  enough  for 
him.  So  he  came  to  hear  how  once  upon  a  time 
everything  could  talk:  the  mountain  talked  to 
the  brook,  and  the  brook  to  the  river,  and  the 
river  to  the  sea,  and  the  sea  to  the  sky.  Then  he 
wanted  to  know  whether  the  sky  did  not  talk  to 
anything ;  and  the  sky  talked  to  the  clouds,  and 
the  clouds  to  the  trees,  and  the  trees  to  the 
grass,  the  grass  to  the  flies,  the  flies  to  the 
animals,  the  animals  to  the  children,  the  children 
to  the  grown-up  people ;  and  so  it  went  on  until 
it  got  round  in  a  circle,  and  no  one  knew  who 
had  begun.     Eyvind  looked  at  the  mountain,  the 

10 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

trees,  the  lake,  the  sky,  and  had  never  really 
seen  them  before.  Just  then  the  cat  came  out 
and  laid  herself  on  the  flags  in  the  sunshine. 

"  V/hat  does  the  cat  say  ? "  asked  Eyvind, 
pointing. 

His  mother  sang : 

The  evening  sun  sinks  low  in  the  skies 
The  cat  lies  lazily  blinking  her  eyes. 
"Two  little  mice, 
Some  cream — so  nice — 
Four  bits  of  fish 
I  stole  from  a  dish ; 
I  got  all  I  desired, 
And  I'm  lazy  and  tired," 
Says  the  cat. 

Then  came  the  cock  with  all  the  hens. 
**  What    does   the  cock  say  ?  "  asked  Eyvind, 
clapping  his  hands. 
His  mother  sang : 

Her  wings  the  brood-hen  sinks : 
Stands  on  one  leg  the  cock,  and  thinks ; 
"  The  grey  gander 
Will  soar  and  wander, 
But  he  can  never,  heigh,  heigh  ! 
Be  half  so  clever  as  I ! 
In,  in,  ye  hens,  and  get  out  of  the  way  I 
The  sun  has  a  holiday  turn  to-day." 
Says  the  cock. 

II 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

Then  two  little  birds  sat  and  sang  upon  the 
ridge  of  the  roof. 

"  What  are  the  birds  saying  ?  "  asked  Eyvind, 
laughing. 

"  Dear  God,  how  sweet  it  is  to  live 
For  those  who  neither  toil  nor  strive," 
Say  the  birds. 

Thus  she  went  through  what  all  the  animals 
said,  right  down  to  the  ant  which  crawled 
through  the  moss,  and  the  worm  that  ticked  in 
the  bark. 

That  same  summer,  his  mother  began  to  teach 

him  to  read.     He  had  long  possessed  books  and 

thought  a  great  deal  about  how  it  would  be  when 

they  too  began  to  talk.     Now  the  letters  turned 

into  beasts,  birds,   and  everything  that  existed. 

Soon  they  began  to  group  themselves  together' 

two  and  two  ;  a  stood  and  rested  under  a  tree 

called  b,  then  c  came   and   did   the   same  ;   but 

when  three  or  four  came  together  it  was  as  if 

they  were  angry  with  one  another ;  they  did  not 

get  on  well  at  all.     And  the  more  he  learned  the 

more  he  forgot  what  they  were.    He  remembered 

za 


A   HAPPY   BOY 

a  the  longest,  because  he  was  fondest  of  it;  it 
was  a  Httle  black  lamb  and  was  friends  with  all. 
But  soon  he  forgot  even  a;  the  book  no  longer 
contained  fairy  tales,  but  only  lessons. 

One  day  his  mother  came  in  and  said  to  him  : 

"To-morrow  school  begins  again,  and  you  are 
to  go  with  me  up  to  the  school-house." 

Eyvind  had  heard  that  school  was  a  place 
where  many  boys  played  together,  and  he  had 
no  objection.  On  the  contrary,  he  was  much 
pleased  ;  he  had  often  been  at  the  school-house, 
but  never  when  school  was  going  on,  and 
he  walked  quicker  than  his  mother  up  the 
hills,  for  he  was  eager.  They  entered  the  vesti- 
bule, and  a  great  hum  met  therxi  like  that  of  the 
mill-house  at  home.  He  asked  his  mother  what 
it  was. 

"It's  the  children  reading,"  she  answered, 
and  he  was  very  glad  to  hear  it,  for  that  was 
how  he  had  read  before  he  knew  his  letters. 
When  he  went  in  there  were  so  many  children 
sitting  round  a  table  that  even  at  church  there 
were   not  more.      Other?  sat   on  their  dinner- 

13        N 


A   HAPPY   BOY 

boxes  along  the  wall ;  some  stood  in  groups 
around  a  blackboard ;  the  schoolmaster,  an  old 
grey-haired  man,  sat  on  a  stool  by  the  fireplace 
filling  his  pipe.  When  Eyvind  and  his  mother 
entered,  they  all  looked  up  and  the  mill-hum 
stopped,  as  when  the  water  is  turned  off.  They 
all  looked  at  the  new-comers.  Eyvind's  mother 
greeted  the  schoolmaster,  who  returned  her  • 
salutation. 

"  Here  I  come  with  a  little  boy  who  wants  to 
learn  to  read,"  said  his  mother. 

"  What's  the  young  man's  name  ?  "  asked  the 
schoolmaster,  fumbling  in  his  leather  pouch  for 
tobacco. 

*'  Eyvind,"  said  his  mother.  "  He  knows  his 
letters  and  he  can  put  them  together." 

"  Ah,  indeed  !  "  said  the  schoolmaster,  **  come 
here,  little  white-head." 

Eyvind  went  to  him ;  the  schoolmaster  lifted 
him  on  his  knee  and  took  off  his  cap. 

"What    a   pretty   little    boy,"    said    he,   and 

stroked  his  hair;  Eyvind  looked  up  into  his  eyes 

and  laughed. 

14 


A   HAPPY   BOY 

"  Is  it  at  me  you're  laughing  ?  "  he  frowned. 

"  Yes,  of  course  it  is,"  answered  Eyvind,  and 
roared  with  laughter.  Then  the  schoolmaster 
laughed  too,  the  mother  laughed,  the  children 
perceived  that  they  might  laugh  as  well,  and  so 
they  all  laughed  together. 

And  that  was  how  Eyvind  entered  school. 

When  he  was  to  take  his  place  they  all 
wanted  to  make  room  for  him ;  but  he  took  a 
good  look  round  first.  They  whispered  and 
pointed ;  he  turned  around  to  every  side  with 
his  cap  in  his  hand,  and  his  book  under  his 
arm. 

*'  Well,  have  you  made  up  your  mind  ?  "  asked 
the  schoolmaster,  still  working  away  at  his  pipe. 
Just  as  the  boy  was  turning  to  the  schoolmaster, 
he  saw  close  beside  him,  down  by  the  hearth- 
stone, sitting  on  a  little  red  box,  Marit  of  the 
many  names  ;  she  had  hidden  her  face  in  her 
two  hands  and  sat  peeping  out  at  him. 

*'  I  will  sit  here,"  said  Eyvind  resolutely,  and, 
taking  a  box,  he  seated  himself  by  her  side. 

Now  she  lifted  the  arm  that  was  next  to  him 

15 


A   KAPPY   BOY 

a  little  and  looked  at  him  under  her  elbow;  he 
instantly  covered  his  face  too  with  both  hands 
and  looked  at  her  under  his  elbow.  So  they 
sat  behaving  in  this  foolish  way  until  she 
laughed,  then  he  laughed,  the  children  saw  and 
laughed  too ;  thereupon  a  terribly  loud  voice 
struck  in,  becoming  milder  by  degrees  however : 

"  Be  quiet  you  young  trolls,  urchins,  imps ! 
be  quiet  and  good,  my  poppets  !  " 

It  was  the  schoolmaster,  who  had  a  way  of 
flying  out,  but  calmed  down  again  before  he 
finished.  The  school  became  instantly  quiet, 
until  the  pepper-mill  began  to  go  again  and  they 
read  aloud  each  in  his  book ;  the  trebles  struck 
up  in  a  high  key,  the  deeper  voices  got  sharper 
and  sharper  to  keep  in  the  ascendant,  and  now 
and  then  one  or  another  gave  a  great  whoop. 
In  all  his  born  days  Eyvind  had  never  had  such 
fun. 

"  Is  it  always  like  this,  here  ?  "  he  whispered 
to  Marit. 

"  Yes,  just  like  this,"  said  she. 

By-and-by  they  had  to  go  to  the  schoolmaster 

i6 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

and  read;  a  little  boy  was  then  set  to  learn 
with  them,  and  then  they  were  released  and 
allowed  to  go  back  and  sit  quietly  again. 

"  I've  got  a  goat  too,  now,"  said  Marit. 

*'  Have  you  ?  " 

"  Yes  ;  but  he's  not  so  pretty  as  3''ours." 

"  Why  have  you  never  come  up  on  the  rock 
again  ? 

**  Grandfather  is  afraid  I  shall  fall  over." 

**  But  it's  not  very  high." 

"  Grandfather  won't  let  me,  all  the  same." 

**  Mother   knows   such   a   lot   of  songs,"  said 
Eyvind. 

"  So  does  grandfather,  I  can  tell  you." 

"  Yes  ;  but  he  doesn't  know  the  ones  mother 
knows." 

**  Grandfather  knows  one  about  a  dance.     Do 
you  want  to  hear  it?  " 

*'  Yes,  very  much." 

"  Well  then,  you  must  come  farther  over  here 
that  the  schoolmaster  mayn't  hear." 

He  moved   along   and  then   she   repeated   to 
him  a  little  bit  of  a  song,  four  or  five  times  over, 

17  B 


A   HAPPY   BOY 

SO  that  the  boy   learned  it ;   and  that  was  the 
first  thing  he  learned  at  school. 

*'  Dance,"  shrieked  the  fiddle, 
And  squeaked  with  its  string  so 
That  up  jumped  the  bailiffs 

Son  and  cried  "Ho!" 
••  Stop  !  "  shouted  Ola, 
Stuck  out  his  leg,  so 
It  tripped  up  the  bailift, 

And  all  the  girls  laughed. 

"Hop,"  murmured  Erik, 
And  leaped  to  the  roof-tree. 
Till  all  the  beams  cracked  and 

The  walls  gave  a  scream. 
••Stop!  "  shouted  Elling, 
Caught  hold  of  his  collar, 
And  lifted  him  high — "You're 

As  weak  as  a  cat !  " 

»•  Hey  !  "  called  out  Rasmus, 
Caught  Randi  and  spun  her, 
"  Hurry  and  give  me 

That  kiss,  don't  you  know  ?  " 
"No,"  answered  Randi. 
And  boxed  his  ears  soundly, 
And  slipped  from  his  arm  with 

"  Take  that  for  your  pains  !  " 

"Up  children  1"  cried  the  schoolmaster.  *'As 
this  is  our  first  day  you  shall  go  early ;  but  first 
we  must  have  prayers  and  a  hymn." 

At  once  a  great  racket   sprang    up    in    the 

xS 


A   HAPPY    BOY 

school;  they  jumped  on  forms,  ran  about  the 
room,  and  all  talked  at  once. 

"Be  quiet  you  young  imps,  you  young 
scamps,  you  young  ruffians ;  be  quiet  and  walk 
across  the  room  nicely ;  there's  good  children  !  " 
said  the  schoolmaster,  and  they  went  quietly  to 
their  places  and  calmed  down,  whereupon  the 
schoolmaster  stood  up  before  them  and  said  a 
short  prayer.  Then  they  sang;  the  school- 
master led  in  a  strong  bass,  all  the  children 
standing  with  folded  hands  and  singing  with 
him.  Eyvind  stood  lowest  by  the  door  with 
Marit  and  looked  on;  they,  too,  folded  their 
hands,  but  they  could  not  sing. 

That  was  his  first  day  at  school 


s$ 


CHAPTER  III 

Eyvind  grew  and  became  an  active  boy;  at 
school  he  was  amongst  the  first,  and  he  was 
capable  at  his  work  at  home.  That  was  because 
at  home  he  was  fond  of  his  mother  and  at 
school  he  was  fond  of  his  master.  His  father 
he  saw  but  little,  for  he  was  either  away  fishing 
or  else  he  was  looking  after  their  mill,  where 
half  the  parish  had  their  grinding  done. 

The  thing  which  most  influenced  his  mind 
during  these  years  was  the  schoolmaster's  history, 
which  his  mother  told  him  one  evening  as  they 
sat  by  the  fire.  It  ran  through  all  his  books,  it 
underlay  every  word  the  schoolmaster  said ;  he 
felt  it  in  the  air  of  the  schoolroom  when  all  was 
quiet.  It  filled  him  with  obedience  and  respect, 
and  gave  him  a  quicker  apprehension,  as  it  were, 
of  all  that  was  taught  him.     This  was  the  story  : 

20 


A    HAPPY   BOY 

Baard  was  the  schoolmaster's  name  and  he 
had  a  brother  called  Anders.  The}^  were  very 
fond  of  each  other ;  both  enlisted,  lived  in  town 
together,  and  were  together  in  the  war,  when 
they  both  became  corporals  and  served  in  the 
same  company.  When,  after  the  war,  they 
came  home  again,  everybody  thought  them  two 
stalwart  fellows.  Then  their  father  died.  He 
had  a  good  deal  of  loose  property  which  was 
difficult  to  divide  evenly,  so  they  said  to  each 
other  that  they  would  not  fall  out  about  it,  but 
would  put  up  the  things  to  auction  so  that  each 
could  buy  what  he  wished  and  then  they  would 
share  the  proceeds.  So  said  so  done.  But 
their  father  possessed  a  large  gold  watch  which 
was  widely  renowned,  for  it  was  the  only  gold 
watch  people  in  those  parts  had  ever  seen. 
When  this  watch  was  put  up  many  rich  people 
tried  for  it,  until  the  brothers,  too,  began  to 
bid  ;  then  the  others  gave  way.  Now  Baard 
expected  Anders  to  let  him  get  the  watch,  and 
Anders  expected  the  same  of  Baard  ;  each  made 
his   bid   in   turn    to  prove  the  other,   and  they 

21 


A    HAPPY   BOY 

looked  across  at  each  other  whilst  they  bid. 
When  the  watch  had  got  up  to  twenty  dollars 
Baard  felt  it  was  not  nice  of  his  brother  to  bid 
against  him,  and  kept  on  bidding  until  it  got 
towards  thirty  dollars.  As  Anders  still  did  not 
give  in,  it  seemed  to  Baard  that  Anders  neither 
remembered  how  good  he  had  been  to  him,  nor 
yet  that  he  was  the  eldest.  The  watch  got 
over  thirty  dollars,  and  Anders  still  kept  on. 
Then  Baard  ran  the  watch  up  to  forty  dollars  in 
one  bid,  and  no  longer  looked  at  his  brother. 
It  was  very  quiet  in  the  auction-room  ;  only  the 
bailiff  quietly  repeated  the  figures.  Anders 
thought  as  he  stood  there  that  if  Baard  could 
afford  to  give  forty  dollars  he  could  too,  and  if 
Baard  grudged  him  the  watch  he  would  have  to 
take  it;  so  out-bid  him.  This  seemed  to 
Baard  the  greatest  slight  that  had  ever  been  put 
upon  him ;  he  bid  fifty  dollars,  quite  softly.  A 
great  many  people  were  standing  round,  and 
Anders  thought  he  must  not  let  his  brother  thus 
put  him  to  shame  in  everybody's  hearing,  so  he 
bid  over  him.     Then  Baard  laughed :  "  A  hun- 

22 


A   HAPPY   BOY 

dred  dollars  and  my  brotherhood  into  the 
bargain,"  said  he  ;  turned,  and  went  out  of  the 
room.  Some  one  presently  came  out  to  him 
whilst  he  was  busy  saddling  the  horse  he  had 
bought  just  before. 

*' The  watch  is  yours,"  said  the  man  ;  "Anders 
gave  in." 

The  moment  Baard  heard  this  a  sort  of 
remorse  fell  upon  him ;  he  thought  of  his 
brother  and  not  of  the  watch.  The  saddle  was 
on,  but  he  paused  with  his  hand  on  the  horse's 
back,  uncertain  whether  he  should  start.  Then 
a  lot  of  people  came  out,  Anders  amongst  them  ; 
and  so  soon  as  he  saw  his  brother  standing  there 
by  the  saddled  horse,  not  knowing  what  was  in 
Baard's  mind,  he  called  out  to  him  : 

"  Much  good  may  the  watch  do  you,  Baard ! 
It  won't  be  going  on  the  day  when  your  brother 
runs  after  you  any  more." 

"  Nor  yet  on  the  day  when  I  ride  home  again," 
answered  Baard,  with  a  white  face,  as  he  mounted 
his  horse.  The  house  in  which  they  had  lived 
with  their  father,  neither  of  them  entered  again. 

23 


A   HAPPY   BOY 

Soon  after,  Anders  married  and  settled  as  a 
cottar-tenant,  but  did  not  invite  Baard  to  the 
wedding.     Baard  was  not  at  church  either. 

In  the  first  year  of  Ander's  marriage  the  only 
cow  he  possessed  was  found  dead  by  the  north 
wall  of  the  house,  where  it  was  tethered;  and 
nobody  could  make  out  what  it  had  died  of 
Several  misfortunes  followed,  and  he  went  down 
in  the  world  ;  but  the  worst  was  when  in  mid- 
winter his  barn  was  burnt  with  all  that  was  in 
it ;  nobody  knew  how  the  fire  broke  out. 

*^  Somebody  that  hates  me  has  done  this,"  said 
Anders,  and  he  wept  that  night.  He  became  a 
poor  man  and  lost  all  heart  for  work. 

Next  evening  Baard  stood  in  his  room,  Anders 
was  lying  on  the  bed  when  he  entered,  but  he 
lumped  up. 

^'  What  do  you  want  here  ? "    he  asked,  but 

stopped   short  and  stood  looking  fixedly  at  his 

brother.      Baard     waited     a     little     before     he 

answered : 

I       *'  I  want  to  help  you,  Anders  ;  the  luck's  been 

V  against  you." 

24 


A   HAPPY   BOY 

"The  luck's  been  as  you  wished  it  to  be, 
Baard.  Go,  or  I  mayn't  be  able  to  keep  my 
hands  off  you." 

"You  are  mistaken,  Anders;  I'm  sorry " 

"  Go  Baard,  or  God  help  both  you  and 
me ! " 

Baard  drew  back  a  pace  or  two ;  with  a  quiver- 
ing voice  he  said : 

"  If  you'll  take  the  watch,  you  shall  have  it." 

"  Go,  Baard ! "  shouted  the  other,  and  Baard 
went. 

With  Baard  things  had  gone  in  this  wise. 
So  soon  as  he  heard  that  his  brother  was  in 
distress  his  heart  melted  towards  him,  but  pride 
kept  him  back.  He  felt  himself  much  drawn 
towards  the  church,  and  there  he  formed  good 
resolutions,  but  he  had  not  the  strength  to  carry 
them  out.  He  often  set  forth  and  came  within 
sight  of  the  house,  but  now  some  one  came  out 
of  the  door,  now  there  was  a  stranger  there,  or 
Anders  was  out  chopping  wood  j  so  that  there 
was  always  something  in  the  way.  One  Sunday 
in     midwinter,  however,    he  was  once  more  at 

23 


A   HAPPY   BOY 

church  and  Anders  was  there  too.    Baard  saw 
him ;  he  had  grown  pale  and  thin,  he  wore  the 
same  clothes  as  when  they  were  together,  but 
now   they  w^ere   old   and    ragged.     During   the 
sermon  he  looked  up  at  the  pastor,  and  it  seemed 
to  Baard   that    he   was   kind   and   gentle.      He 
remembered   their   childhood  and  what  a  good 
boy  he  was.     Baard  himself  took  the  Sacrament 
that  day,  and  he  made  the  solemn  promise  before 
his   God   that,  come   what,  might,  he  would  be 
reconciled  to  his  brother.     This  'purpose  pene- 
trated his  soul  just  as  he  drank  the  wine,  and 
when  he  rose  he  intended  to  go  straight  over  and 
sit  down  beside  him,  but  some  one  was  sitting  in 
the  way  and  his  brother  did  not  look  up.     After 
service  there  were   still  difficulties :  there  were 
too  many  people  about ;  his  brother's  wife  was 
walking  by  his  side  and  he  did  not  know  her. 
He  thought  it  would  be  best  to  go  to  his  house 
and  have  a  serious  talk  with  him.     When  even- 
ing came  he  did  so.     He  went  right  up  to  the  door 
and  listened,  but  then  he  heard  his  own  name 
mentioned.     It  was  the  woman  who  spoke. 

?6 


A   HAPPY    BOY 

''  He  took  the  Sacrament  to-day,"  said  she, 
"  I  daresay  he  was  thinking  of  you." 

"  No,  he  wasn't  thinking  of  me,"  said  Anders. 
"  I  know  him  ;  he  thinks  only  of  himself." 

For  a  long  time  nothing  more  was  said. 
Baard  perspired  as  he  stood  there,  although  it 
was  a  cold  evening.  The  woman  inside  was 
busy  over  a  pot  that  bubbled  and  hissed  on  the 
fire,  an  infant  cried  now  and  then,  and  Anders 
rocked  the  cradle. 

Then  she  said  these  words  : 

"  I  believe  you  two  are  always  thinking  of 
each  other  and  won't  own  to  it." 

"  Let  us  talk  of  something  else,"  answered 
Anders.  He  rose  soon  after  to  go  to  the  door. 
Baard  had  to  hide  himself  in  the  woodshed,  and 
Anders  came  to  that  very  place  to  fetch  an 
armful  of  wood.  Baard  stood  in  the  corner  and 
saw  him  distinctly ;  he  had  taken  off  his 
wretched  church-clothes  and  had  on  the  uniform 
in  which  he  had  come  home  from  the  war,  just 
like  Baard's.     The  brothers  had  promised  each 

other  never  to  wear  these  uniforms,  but  to  leave 

27 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

them  as  heirlooms  in  the  family.  Anders'  was 
now  patched  and  worn  out,  his  strong,  well- 
developed  body  appeared  as  if  wrapped  in  a 
bundle  of  rags,  and  just  then  Baard  could  hear 
the  gold  watch  ticking  in  his  own  pocket. 
Anders  went  to  the  place  where  the  faggots  lay  ; 
instead  of  immediately  stooping  to  load  himself, 
he  stopped,  leaned  back  against  a  pile  of  wood 
and  looked  out  at  the  sky,  which  was  clear  and 
glittering  with  stars.  Then  he  heaved  a  sigh 
and  said : 

"  Well — well — well — my  God,  my  God ! " 
As  long  as  Baard  lived  he  heard  those  words. 
He  wanted  to  step  forward  and  greet  him,  but 
just  then  Anders  coughed  and  it  sounded  so 
harsh.  That  was  enough  to  check  him.  Anders 
took  his  armful  of  wood  and  brushed  by  Baard 
so  closely  that  the  twigs  scratched  his  face  and 
made  it  smart. 

He  stood  motionless  on  the  same  spot  for 
quite  ten  minutes,  and  might  have  stood  much 
longer  had  it  not  been  that  after  so  much  strong 
emotion  he  was  seized  with  a  shivering  fit  that 

2S 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

shook  him  from  head  to  foot.  Then  he  went 
out :  he  acknowledged  frankly  to  himself  that  he 
was  too  cowardly  to  go  in,  so  he  now  formed 
another  plan.  Out  of  a  cinder-box  which  stood 
in  the  corner  he  had  just  left,  he  took  some 
pieces  of  coal,  found  a  splinter  of  resinous  wood, 
went  up  into  the  barn,  closed  the  door  after  him 
and  struck  a  light.  When  he  had  got  the  wood 
lighted  he  looked  for  the  peg  upon  which  Anders 
hung  his  lantern  when  he  came  out  in  the  early 
morning  to  thresh.  Baard  took  off  his  gold 
watch  and  hung  it  on  tne  peg,  then  extinguished 
his  splinter  and  went  away.  He  felt  his  heart 
so  lightened  that  he  ran  over  the  snow  like  a 
young  boy. 

The  next  day  he  head  that  the  barn  had 
been  burned  down  in  the  night.  Sparks  had 
probably  fallen  from  the  splinter  which  he  had 
lighted  that  he  might  see  to  hang  up  the 
watch. 

This  so  overpowered  him  that  all  that  day  he 
sat  like  a  sick  person,  took  down  his  psalm- 
book  and  sang,  so  that  the  people  in  the  house 

«9 


A   HAPPY   BOY 

thought  there  must  be  something  wrong  with 
him.  But  in  the  evening  he  went  out ;  it  was 
bright  moonlight,  He  went  to  his  brother's 
farm,  poked  about  on  the  site  of  the  fire — and 
found,  sure  enough,  a  little  lump  of  gold.  It 
was  the  watch,  melted  down. 

With  this  in  his  hand  he  went  in  to  his 
brother  that  evening  and  besought  him  to  make 
peace.  What  came  of  this  attempt  has  already 
been  related. 

A  little  girl  had  seen  him  scraping  among  the 
ashes  on  the  site  of  the  fire;  some  boys,  on 
their  way  to  a  dance,  had  noticed  him  on  the 
Sunday  evening  going  down  towards  Anders' 
farm ;  the  people  at  home  had  told  how  strangely 
he  had  behaved  on  the  Monday ;  and  as  every- 
one knew  that  he  and  his  brother  were  bitter 
enemies,  the  matter  was  reported  to  the  authori- 
ties and  an  inquiry  set  on  foot.  No  one  could 
prove  anything  against  him,  but  suspicion  clung 
to  him.  Reconciliation  with  his  brother  was  now 
more  impossible  than  ever. 

Anders  had  thought  of  Baard  when  the  barn 

30 


A    HAPPY   BOY 

was  burnt,  but  had  said  so  to  no  one.  When, 
on  the  following  evening,  he  saw  him  in  his 
room,  so  white  and  strange-looking,  he  immedi- 
ately thought : 

**  Remorse  has  got  hold  of  him  now,  but  for 
such  a  horrible  crime  against  his  brother  there 
can  be  no  forgiveness." 

Afterwards  he  heard  how  people  had  seen 
him  go  down  to  the  buildings  on  the  evening 
of  the  fire,  and  although  nothing  was  brought  to 
light  by  the  inquiry,  he  was  firmly  convinced 
that  Baard  was  the  culprit.  They  met  at  the 
inquiry;  Baard  in  his  good  clothes,  Anders  in 
his  rags.  As  Anders  entered,  Baard  looked 
over  at  him  with  such  beseeching  eyes  that 
Anders  felt  the  look  in  his  very  marrow. 

**He  wants  me  to  say  nothing,"  thought 
Anders,  and  when  he  was  asked  whether  he 
beheved  his  brother  had  done  the  deed  he  said 
loudly  and  distinctly : 

"  No." 

But  Anders  took  to  drink  from  that  day,  and 
soon  fell  into  a  bad  way.     Baard  suffered  still 

31 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

morC;  although  he  did  not  drink.     One  would  not 
have  known  him  for  the  same  man. 

At  last,  late  one  evening,  a  poor  woman  came 
into  the  little  room  in  which  Baard  lodged,  and 
asked  him  to  come  out  a  little  way  with  her. 
He  knew  it  was  his  brother's  wife.  Baard  at 
once  understood  upon  what  errand  she  had 
come ;  he  turned  as  white  as  death,  put  on  his 
things,  and  went  with  her  without  speaking  a 
word.  A  faint  glimmer  of  light  came  from 
Anders'  window,  and  they  made  for  the  gleam; 
for  there  was  no  path  over  the  snow.  When 
Baard  stood  once  more  in  the  passage  he  was 
met  by  a  strange  odour,  which  turned  him  sick. 
They  went  in.  A  little  child  was  sitting  on  the 
hearth  eating  coal ;  its  face  was  black  all  over, 
but  it  looked  up,  and  laughed  with  white  teeth. 
It  was  his  brother's  child.  In  the  bed,  with  all 
kinds  of  clothes  over  him,  lay  Anders,  wasted, 
with  high,  transparent  forehead,  looking  with 
hollow  eyes  at  his  brother.  Baard's  knees 
trembled  beneath  him ;  he  sat  down  on  the  foot 
of  the  bed  and  burst  into  a  violent  fit  of  weeping. 

32 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

The  sick  man  looked  at  him  immovably  and 
was  silent.  At  last  he  told  his  wife  to  go  out, 
but  Baard  motioned  her  to  stay, — and  now  the 
two  brothers  began  to  talk  together.  They 
explained  themselves  from  the  day  of  their 
bidding  for  the  watch  right  down  to  the  moment 
of  their  present  meeting.  Baard  concluded  by 
taking  out  the  lump  of  gold  which  he  always 
carried  about  him,  and  each  now  confessed  to 
the  other  that  in  all  these  years  he  had  not  felt 
happy  for  a  single  day.  Anders  did  not  say 
much  for  he  was  not  able,  but  Baard  sat  at  his 
bedside  all  through  his  illness. 

"Now  I  am  quite  well,"  said  Anders  one 
morning  when  he  woke,  "  now,  my  dear  brother, 
we  will  live  long^  together  and  never  part,  as  in 
the  old  days." 

But  that  day  he  died. 

Baard  took  his  wife  and  child  home  with  him,  and 
from  that  day  forward  they  wanted  for  nothing. 

What  the  brothers  had  said  to  each  other  as 
Baard  sat  by  the  bed  made  its  way  out  through 
the  walls  and  the  night,  and  became  known  to 

33  c 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

every  one  in  the  village,  and  no  one  was  more 
highly  esteemed  than  Baard.  Every  one  paid 
respect  to  him  as  they  would  to  one  who  has  had 
great  sorrow  and  found  joy  again,  or  as  to  one 
who  has  been  long  absent.  Baard  was  com- 
forted by  the  friendliness  which  surrounded  him, 
and  devoted  himself  to  the  service  of  God.  He 
wanted  some  occupation,  he  said,  and  so  the  old 
corporal  took  to  teaching  school.  What  he 
instilled  into  the  children  hrst  and  last  was  love ; 
and  he  practised  it  himself,  so  that  the  little  ones 
were  devoted  to  him  as  a  playfellow  and  lather 
all  in  one. 

This,  then,  was  the  story  of  the  old  school- 
master, and  it  took  such  a  hold  on  Eyvind's 
mind  that  it  became  to  him  at  once  a  religion 
and  an  education.  The  schoolmaster  appeared 
to  him  almost  a  supernatural  being,  although  he 
sat  there  so  sociably  and  pretended  to  scold 
them.  Not  ^to  know  a  lesson  for  him  was  im- 
possible, and  if  he  got  a  smile  or  a  pat  on  the 
head  after  saying  it  he  felt  a  glow  of  happiness 
for  a  whole  day. 

34 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

It  always  made  the  deepest  impression  on  the 
children  when  the  schoolmaster,  before  singing, 
would  make  a  little  speech ;  and  at  least  once 
every  week  he  used  to  read  them  a  few  verses 
about  brotherly  love.  When  he  read  the  first  of 
these  verses  there  was  always  a  quiver  in  his 
voice,  although  he  liad  read  it  again  and  again 
for  twenty  or  thirty  years  ;  it  ran  thus  : 

Love  thy  neighbour,  Christian  leal, 
Tread  him  not  with  iron  heel 
If  in  dust  he  lies. 
All  things  living  join  to  prove 
The  creative  power  of  love 
When  a  pure  heart  tries. 

But  when  the  whole  poem  was  finished  and 
he  had  paused  a  moment  after  it,  he  would  look 
at  them  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eyes : 

"  Up  with  you,  youngsters,  and  get  you  home 
nicely  without  any  noise — walk  nicely  so  that  I 
may  hear  nothing  but  good  accounts  of  you,  little 
people ! " 

And  then,  while  they  w^ere  making  a  very 
Babel  in  searching  for  their  books  and  dinner- 
boxes,  he  would  cry  above  the  uproar : 

35 


A    HAPPY    BOY 


**  Come  back  again  to-morrow  as  soon  as  it's 
light,  or  you'll  catch  it!  Come  back  in  good 
time  little  girls  and  boys,  then  we'll  go  to  work 
with  a  will  I  '* 


3« 


CHAPTER   IV 

Of  Eyvind's  further  development  up  to  a  year 
before  his  confirmation  there  is  not  much  to  tell. 
He  read  in  the  morning,  worked  in  the  day,  and 
played  in  the  evening. 

As  he  was  of  an  unusually  cheerful  disposition, 
it  was  not  long  before  the  young  people  of  the 
neighbourhood,  in  their  playtime,  were  glad  to 
be  where  he  was.  A  long  hill  ran  dow;n  to  the 
cove  in  front  of  the  farm,  skirting  the  rock  on 
the  one  side  and  the  wood  on  the  other,  as 
already  related ;  every  fine  evening  and  every 
Sunday,  all  the  winter  through,  this  was  the 
chosen  toboggan-slop'}  of  cM  the  young  sledgers 
of  the  village. 

Eyvind  was  lord  of  th3  slope  and  owned  two 
sledges  *'  Spanker  "  and  *^  Galloper ;  "  the  latter 
he  lent  to  larger  parties,  the  former  he  steered 

37 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

himself  with  Marit  on  his  lap.  At  this  season, 
the  first  thing  Eyvind  did  when  he  woke  was  to 
look  out  and  see  whether  it  was  thawing ;  and 
if  he  saw  a  grey  veil  lying  over  the  bushes  on 
the  other  side  of  the  cove,  or  if  he  heard  the 
roof  dripping,  he  was  as  slow  over  his  dressing 
as  if  there  was  nothing  to  do  that  day.  But  if 
he  awoke,  especially  on  Sundays,  to  crackling 
cold  and  clear  weather,  best  clothes  and  no 
work,  only  catechism  or  church  in  the  forenoon, 
and  then  the  whole  afternoon  and  evening  free, 
hurrah  I  then  the  boy  jumped  out  of  bed  with 
one  bound,  dressed  as  if  the  house  were  on  fire, 
and  could  scarcely  eat  any  breakfast.  The 
moment  it  was  afternoon  and  the  first  boy  came 
on  his  snow-shoes  along  the  roadside,  swinging 
his  staff  over  his  head  and  shouting  so  that  the 
hills  around  the  lake  rang  again,  and  then 
one  came  down  the  road  on  his  sledge  and  then 
another  and  another — straightway  off  shot  the 
boy  on  his  " Spanker"  down  the  whole  length  of 
the  slope,  landing  amongst  the  late  comers  with  a 
lor.g,  shrill  shout,  which  was  re-echoed  from  jidge 

38 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

to  ridge  along  the  cove,  until  it  died  away  in  the 
far  distance.  He  would  then  look  round  for 
Marit,  but  when  once  she  had  come,  he  troubled 
no  more  about  her. 

Then  one  Christmas  came  when  the  boy  and 
the  girl  were  both  about  sixteen  or  seventeen 
and  were  to  be  confirmed  in  the  spring.  On 
the  fourth  day  of  Christmas  week  there  was  a 
big  party  at  the  Upper  Hill  Farm  where  Marit 
lived  with  her  grandparents,  who  had  brought 
her  up.  They  had  promised  her  this  party 
every  year  for  three  years,  and  at  last,  these 
holidays,  they  had  to  fulfil  their  promise.  Ey- 
vind  was  invited. 

It  was  a  cloudy  evening,  not  cold ;  no  stars 
were  to  be  seen ;  the  morrow  might  bring  rain. 
A  drowsy  breeze  blew  over  the  snow,  which 
was  swept  clear  in  patches  on  the  white  uplands, 
while  in  other  places  it  had  formed  deep  drifts. 
Along  by  the  roadside  where  no  snow  happened 
to  lie  there  was  a  margin  of  slippery  ice  ;  it  lay 
blue-black  between  the  snow  and  the  bare  ground, 
and  could  be  seen  glimmering  here  and  there  as 

39 


A  iiAppy  bc^ 

far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  On  the  mountain- 
sides there  had  been  snow-slips;  their  tracks 
were  black  and  bare,  while  on  each  side  of  them 
the  snow  lay  smooth  and  white,  except  where 
the  birch-trees  clustered  together  in  dark  patches. 
There  was  no  water  to  be  seen,  but  half-naked 
moors  and  bogs  stretched  up  to  riven  and  lower- 
ing mountains. 

The  farms  lay  in  large  clusters  in  the  midst 
of  the  level  ground;  in  the  dusk  of  the  winter 
evening  they  looked  like  black  masses  from 
which  light  shot  forth  over  the  fields,  now  from 
one  window,  now  from  another  ;  to  judge  by  the 
lights  there  was  a  great  deal  going  on  inside. 
Young  people,  grown-up  and  half-grown  up, 
flocked  together  from  various  quarters.  Very 
few  kept  to  the  road;  almost  all,  at  any  rate, 
left  it  when  they  drew  near  the  farms,  and 
slipped  away,  one  behind  the  cowhouse,  a  pair 
under  the  store-house  and  so  forth ;  while  some 
rushed  away  behind  the  barn  and  howled  like 
foxes,   others    answered    farther    off    like   cats. 

One   stood   behind  the  wash-house  and  barked 

40 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

like  an  old  angry  dog,  who  had  broken  his  chain, 
until  there  was  a  general  chase.  The  girls 
came  marching  along  in  large  bands ;  they  had  a 
few  boys,  mostly  little  boys,  with  them,  who 
skirmished  around  them  to  show  off.  When 
one  of  the  gangs  of  girls  came  near  the  house 
and  one  or  other  of  the  big  boys  caught  sight 
of  them,  the  girls  scattered  and  fled  into  the 
passages  or  down  the  garden,  and  had  to  be 
dragged  out  and  into  the  rooms  one  by  one. 
Some  were  so  extremely  bashful  that  Marit  had 
to  be  sent  for,  when  she  would  come  out  and 
positively  force  them  in.  Sometimes  one  would 
come  who  had  not  been  invited  and  whose 
intention  it  was  not  to  go  in,  but  only  to  look 
on,  until  in  the  end  she  would  be  persuaded  just 
to  have  one  single  dance.  Those  guests  whom 
she  really  cared  for,  Marit  invited  into  a  little 
room  where  the  old  people  sat  and  smoked  and 
grandmother  did  the  honours ;  there  they  were 
kindly  received  and  treated.  Eyvind  was  not 
amongst  the  favoured  ones,  and  he  thought  that 
rather  strange. 

41 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

The  best  player  of  the  village  could  not  come 
till  late,  so  they  had  meanwhile  to  manage  with 
the  old  one,  a  cottager  called  Grey  Knut.  -  He 
knew  four  dances,  two  spring-dances,  a  hailing* 
and  an  old,  so-called  Napoleon  waltz ;  but  he 
had  been  obliged  gradually  to  turn  the  hailing 
into  a  shottische  by  taking  it  in  different  time ; 
and  in  the  same  way  a  spring-dance  had  to  do 
duty  as  a  polka-mazurka.  He  struck  up,  and 
the  dancing  began.  Eyvind  did  not  dare  to 
join  in  at  first,  for  there  were  too  many  grown- 
up people ;  but  the  half-grown  ones  soon  banded 
together,  pushed  each  other  forward,  drank  a 
little  strong  ale  to  hearten  them,  and  then 
Eyvind  also  joined  in;  The  room  grew  very 
hot,  the  fun  and  the  ale  mounted  to  their 
heads. 

Marit  danced  more  than  any  one  else  that 
evening,  probably  because  the  party  was  in  her 
grandparents'  house,  and  so  it  happened  that 
Eyvind  often  caught   her  eye,   but    she   always 

*  The  "  spring-dance"  and  "  hailing  "  are  characteristic 
peasant  dances. 

42 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

danced  with  some  one  else.  He  wanted  to 
dance  with  her  himself,  so  he  sat  out  one  dance 
in  order  to  run  to  her  directly  it  ended,  and  this 
he  did ;  but  a  tall,  swarthy  fellow  with  bushy 
hair  pushed  in  front  of  him. 

"  Get  away,  youngster !  "  cried  he  and  gave 
Eyvind  a  shove,  so  that  he  nearly  fell  backwards 
over  Marit.  Never  had  such  a  thing  happened 
to  him,  never  had  any  one  been  other  than  kind 
to  him,  never  had  he  been  called  "  youngster  " 
when  he  wanted  to  join  in  anything.  He  red- 
dened to  the  roots  of  his  hair,  but  said  nothing, 
and  drew  back  to  where  the  new  musician,  just 
arrived,  had  taken  his  seat  and  was  tuning  up. 
There  was  silence  amongst  the  crowd  ;  they 
were  waiting  to  hear  the  first  loud  note  from 
"  the  right  man."  He  tuned  and  tried  for  a 
long  time,  but  at  length  he  struck  up  a  spring- 
dance,  the  boys  shouted  and  hopped,  and  pair 
by  pair  whirled  into  the  circle.  Eyvind  looked 
at  Marit  dancing  with  the  bushy-haired  man, 
she  laughed  over  the  man's  shoulder  so  that  her 
white  teeth  showed,  and   Eyvind,   for  the  first 

43 


A    HAPPY    BO"^ 

time  in  his  life,  was  aware  of  a  strange,  tingling 
pain  in  his  breast. 

He  looked  at  her  again  and  again,  and  the 
more  he  looked  the  clearer  it  seemed  to  him 
that  Marit  was  quite  grown-up. 

"But  it  can't  be  ?o,"  thought  he,  **for  she 
still  goes  sledging  with  us." 

Grown-up  she  was  though,  and  the  bushy- 
haired  man  drew  her  down  upon  his  lap  after 
the  dance  was  over ;  she  broke  loose  from  him, 
but  remained  sitting  at  his  side. 

Eyvind  looked  at  the  man.  He  had  on  fine 
blue  Sunday  clothes,  a  blue-checked  shirt 
and  silk  cravat.  He  had  a  small  tace,  bold, 
blue  eyes,  a  laughing,  defiant  mouth  ;  he  was 
handsome.  Eyvind  looked  again  and  again, 
and  at  last  he  looked  also  at  himself.  He  had 
got  new  trousers  at  Christmas,  of  which  he  was 
very  proud,  but  now  he  saw  that  they  were 
only  grey  frieze ;  his  jacket  was  of  the  same 
stuff,  but  old  and  soiled,  the  knitted  waistcoat  of 
common  yarn,  lozenge-pattern,  also  old  and  with 
two  bright  buttons    and  one  black  one.      He 

44 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

looked  around  him  and  thought  that  very  few 
were  so  poorly  dressed  as  he.  Marit  had  on  a 
black  bodice  of  fine  stuff,  a  silver  brooch  in  her 
neckerchief  and  a  folded  silk  handkerchief  in  her 
liand.  On  the  back  of  her  head  she  wore  a 
little  silk  cap  which  was  fastened  under  her 
chin  with  long  ribbons.  She  was  red  and 
white ;  she  laughed ;  the  man  talked  with  her 
and  laughed  too.  Again  the  music  struck  up 
and  again  they  stood  up  to  dance.  A  comrade 
came  and  sat  beside  him. 

"  Why  aren't  you  dancing,  Eyvind  ?  "  said  he, 
gently. 

"  Oh,  no,"  said  Eyvind,  *'  do  I  look  like  it  ?  " 

**  Look  like  it,"  said  his  comrade,  but  before  he 
could  get  further  Eyvind  said  : 

"  Who  is  that  in  the  blue  clothes,  dancing 
with  Marit  ?  " 

"That's  John  Hatlen,  who's  been  away  so 
long  at  the  agricultural  college ;  he's  going  to 
take  the  farm  now." 

At  th^t  moment  Marit  and  John  sat  down. 

'*  Who   is    that   fair-haired    boy   sitting   there 

45 


A    HAPPY   BOY 

beside  the  fiddler  and   staring  at   me?"   asked 
John. 

Marit  laughed  and  answered : 

"That's  the  cottar's  son,  down  at  the 
croft." 

Of  course  Eyvind  had  always  known  he  was 
a  cottar's  son,  but  until  now  he  had  never  felt 
it.  He  had  a  feeling  as  though  his  body  had 
suddenly  shrunk  and  he  was  shorter  than  all  the 
others.  To  keep  himself  in  heart,  he  had  to  try- 
to  think  of  everything  that  had  hitherto  made 
him  happy  and  proud,  from  the  sledging-times 
down  to  single  words  that  had  pleased  him.  As 
he  thought,  too,  of  his  mother  and  father  sitting 
at  home  and  thinking  that  he  was  enjoying 
himself,  he  could  scarcely  help  bursting  into 
tears.  All  around  him  were  laughing  and 
joking,  the  fiddle  boomed  right  in  his  ear. 
There  came  a  moment  when  something  black 
seemed  to  rise  up  before  him,  but  then  he 
remembered  the  school  with  all  his  comrades, 
and   the    schoolmaster   who   patted   him  on  the 

back,    and   the   minister  who  had   given  him  a 

46 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

book  at  his  last  examination  and  said  he  was  a 
clever  boy ;  his  father  himself  had  sat  and 
looked  on  and  had  smiled  at  him. 

"  Be  good  now,  Eyvind,"  he  seemed  to  hear 
the  schoolmaster  saying,  and  he  felt  as  though 
he  were  a  little  boy  again,  sitting  on  his  lap. 
"Good  heavens,  you  know,  there's  nothing  to 
trouble  about ;  at  bottom  everybody  is  good;  it  ^ 
only  seems  as  if  they  were  not.  We  two  will ' 
be  clever  fellows,  Eyvind,  just  as  clever  as  John 
Hatlen  ;  we  shall  get  just  as  good  clothes,  and 
dance  with  Marit  in  a  bright  room  among 
hundreds  of  people,  smiling  add  talking  ;  then 
there'll  be  a  bridal  pair  standing  before  the 
minister,  and  I  in  the  choir  smiling  across  at 
you,  and  mother  in  the  house,  a  big  farm, 
twenty  cows,  three  horses,  and  Marit  good  and 

kind,  just  as  she  was  at  school " 

The  dance  ended  and  Eyvind  saw  Marit 
before  him  on  a  bench,  John  still  by  her  side 
with  his  face  close  to  hers  ;  once  more  there 
came  a  great  tingling  pain  in  his  breast,  and  he 
seemed  to  be  sa^'ing  to  himself; 

47 


i 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

"  It's  true,  after  all,  I  am  suffering."  At  that 
moment  Marit  rose  and  came  straight  up  to 
him.     She  bent  down  over  him. 

**  You  mustn't  sit  and  glower  at  me  hke  that," 
said  she ;  "  can't  you  see  that  people  are 
noticing  it  ?     Take  a  partner  and  dance  now." 

He  made  no  answer  but  looked  at  her,  and 
in  spite  of  himself  his  eyes  filled  with 
tears.  She  was  just  turning  away  when  she 
noticed  this  and  stopped  ;  she  suddenly  flushed 
as  red  as  fire,  turned  away  and  went  to  her 
seat,  but  immediately  rose  again  and  seated 
herself  in  another  place.  John  at  once  followed 
her. 

Eyvind  rose  from  the  bench,  went  out 
amongst  the  people  in  the  yard,  seated  himself 
under  a  pent-house  roof,  then  wondered  what 
he  was  doing  there,  got  up  and  then  sat  down 
again,  for  might  he  not  as  well  sit  here  as  any- 
where else  ?  He  did  not  care  to  go  home  nor 
yet  to  go  indoors  again  ;  it  was  all  one  to  him. 
He  was  in  no  state  to  reflect   upon   what  had 

happened  ;   he  did  not  want  to  think  about  it. 

48 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

Neither  did  he  care  to  think  of  the  future; 
there  was  nothing  that  had  any  attraction  for 
him. 

"What  am  I  thinking  of,  after  all?"  he 
asked  himself  half-aloud,  and  hearing  his  own 
voice  he  thought : 

"  So  you  can  still  speak — can  you  laugh  ?  " 

He  tried  :  yes,  he  could  laugh  ;  and  then  he 
went  on  laughing,  loud,  still  louder;  and  then 
it  seemed  to  him  a  great  joke  that  he  should  be 
sitting  there  laughing  all  alone,  and  that  made 
him  laugh  again.  But  his  friend  Hans,  who 
had  been  sitting  by  his  side  indoors,  now 
followed  him  out. 

"  Why,  what  on  earth  are  you  laughing  at  ?  " 
he  asked,  stopping  before  the  pent-house.  Then 
Eyvind  left  off. 

Hans  stood  there  as  if  waiting  to  see  what 
would  happen  next;  Eyvind  rose,  looked 
cautiously  round  and  then  said  softly : 

"  I'll  tell  you  why  I  always  used  to  be  so 
nappy,  Hans ;  it  was  because  I  never  really 
cared  for  anybody.     But  from  the  day  we  care 

49  B 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

for  somebody  our  happiness  is  over."  And  he 
burst  into  tears. 

"  Eyvind ! "  a  voice  whispered  out  in  the 
yard,  **  Eyvind  I  "     He  stopped  and  listened. 

"  Eyvind !  "  repeated  the  voice  once  more,  a 
little  louder.     It  must  be  the  person  he  thought. 

"  Yes,"  answered  he,  also  in  a  v/hisper, 
drying  his  eyes  quickly  and  stepping  forward. 
A  girl  softly  crossed  the  yard. 

"  Are  you  there  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  Yes,"  he  answered,  and  stood  still. 

"  Who  is  with  you  ?  " 

**  It's  Hans."     Hans  wanted  to  go. 

*'  No,  no  !  "  Eyvind  begged  of  him. 

She  now  came  close  up  to  them,  but  slowly ; 
it  was  Marit. 

"You  went  away  so  soon,"  she  said  to 
Eyvind.  He  did  not  know  what  to  answer. 
Thereupon  she  too  became  embarrassed;  they 
were  all  three  silent.  Hans  slipped  quietly 
away  and  left  the  two  standing  there,  not  look- 
ing at  each  other  and  not  moving.     Then  she 

whispered : 

so 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

"  I've  been  going  about  all  the  evening  with 

some    Christmas    sweeties    in    my    pocket    for 

you,   Eyvind,   but  I   couldn't  give  them   to  you 
before." 

She  fished  up  some  apples,  a  slice  of  town- 
baked  cake  and  a  little  half-pint  bottle,  which 
she  held  out  to  him  saying  they  were  for  him. 
Eyvind  pocketed  them, 

"Thanks,"  he  said,  holding  out  his  hand;* 
hers  was  warm,  and  he  let  it  go  at  once  as  if  he 
had  burnt  himself. 

*'  You  have  danced  a  great  deal  this  evening." 

"Yes,  I  have,"  she  answered,  "but  you 
haven't  danced  much,"  she  added. 

"  No,  I  haven't,"  answered  he. 

"  Why  haven't  you  ?  " 

"  Oh " 

"  Eyvind  ! " 

"Yes." 

"  Why  did  you  sit  and  look  at  me  like  that  ?" 

*'Oh "     A  pause. 

*  It  is  the  peasant  custom  to  shake  hands  in  thanking  for 
a  gift. 

51 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

*•  Marit ! " 

*'  Yes." 

'*  Why  didn't  you  like  my  looking  at  you  ?  " 

"  There  were  such  a  lot  of  people  there," 

"  You  danced  a  great  deal  with  John  Hatlen 
this  evening." 

*'  Oh  yes." 

"  He  dances  well." 

"  Do  you  think  so  ?  " 

"  Don't  you  think  so  ?  " 

*'Oh  yes." 

*'  1  don't  know  how  it  is,  but  this  evening  I 
can't  bear  you  to  dance  with  him,  Marit."  He 
turned  away  ;  it  had  cost  him  an  effort  to  say 
this. 

"  I  don't  understand  you,  Eyvind." 

**  I  don't  understand  it  myself:  it's  so  stupid 
of  me.     Good-bye,  Marit,  Fm  going  now." 

He  made  a  step  without  looking  round. 
Ihen  she  said  as  he  moved  away : 

"You've  been  seeing  things  wrongly  to-night, 
Eyvind." 

He  stopped. 

52 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

"There's  one  thing  I  haven't  seen  wrongly 
and  that  is  that  you're  a  grown-up  girl." 

This  was  not  what  she  expected  him  to  say, 
so  she  was  silent ;  and  at  that  moment  she 
saw  the  light  of  a  pipe  right  in  front  of  her. 
It  was  her  grandfather  who  had  just  come  round 
the  corner  and  was  passing  by.     He  stopped. 

*'  Oh  you're  here  are  you,  Marit  ?  " 

"  Yes." . 

"  Who's  that  you're  talking  to  ?  " 

•*  Eyvind." 

"  Who  did  you  say  ?  " 

**  Eyvind  Pladsen." 

"  Oh,  the  cottar's  boy  at  Pladsen :  come  in 
at  once  with  me." 


S3 


CHAPTER  V 

When  Eyvind  opened  his  eyes  next  morning 
it  was  from  a  long,  refreshing  sleep  and  happy 
dreams.  Marit  had  lain  on  the  rock  and  thrown 
down  leaves  at  him;  he  had  caught  them  and 
thrown  them  up  again ;  they  went  up  and  down 
in  a  thousand  colours  and  figures ;  the  sun 
shone  on  them,  and  the  whole  rock  sparkled. 
As  he  awoke  he  looked  round,  expecting  still 
to  see  the  picture  of  his  dream ;  then  he  recol- 
lected the  previous  day,  and  immediately  the 
same  tingling,  bitter  pain  in  his  breast  began 
again.  - 

**  I  suppose  I  shall  never  be  quit  of  it," 
thought  he,  and  he  felt  unstrung,  as  if  his  whole 
future  had  slipped  away  from  him. 

**  You've  slept  a  long  time,"  said  his  mother, 
who    was    sitting    beside    him    spinning.      *'  Up 

54 


A  Happy  boy 

now,  and  have  something  to  eat ;  your  father  is 
of!  to  the  wood  already,  felling  timber." 

His  mother's  voice  seemed  to  help  him,  he 
got  up  with  a  little  more  courage.  No  doubt 
his  mother  was  thinking  of  her  own  dancing- 
days,  for  she  sat  humming  to  herseli  as  she 
span,  whilst  he  dressed  and  ate  his  breakfast. 
To  hide  his  face  from  her  he  had  to  rise  from 
table  and  go  to  the  window.  The  same  weari- 
ness and  oppression  had  come  over  him  again, 
and  he  had  to  pull  himself  together  and  think  of 
setting  to  work. 

The  weather  had  changed,  the  air  had  turned  a 
little  colder,  so  that  what  yesterday  threatened 
to  fall  as  rain,  fell  to-day  as  wet  snov/.  He  put 
on  snow-socks,  a  fur  cap,  a  sailor's  jacket  and 
mittens,  said  good-bye,  and  went  off  with  his  axe 
on  his  shoulder. 

The  snow  fell  slowly  in  large,  wet  flakes ;  he 
struggled  up  the  sledging  slope,  and  turning  to 
the  left  at  the  top,  entered  the  wood.  Never 
before,  winter  or  summer,  had  he  climbed  that 
hill  without  remembering  something  that   made 

S$ 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

him  happy,  or  that  he  longed  for.  Now  It  was 
a  dead,  heavy  tramp ;  he  slipped  in  the  wet 
snow ;  his  knees  were  stiff  either  from  yesterday's 
dancing  or  from  his  general  depression.  He 
felt  now  that  it  was  all  over  with  sledge-running 
for  that  year,  and  that  meant  for  ever.  He 
longed  for  something  else  as  he  went  in  amongst 
the  tree-trunks  where  the  snow  fell  silently;  a 
scared  ptarmigam  shrieked  and  flapped  its  wings 
a  few  yards  ahead  of  him ;  otherwise  everything 
stood  as  though  waiting  for  a  word  that  was 
never  spoken.  But  what  it  was  that  he  yearned 
for  he  did  not  distinctly  know,  only  it  was  not 
at  home,  nor  yet  abroad,  it  was  not  merriment 
nor  yet  work  ;  it  was  something  high  up  in  the 
air,  soaring  like  a  song.  Presently  it  resolved 
itself  into  a  definite  wish,  and  that  was  to  be 
confirmed  in  the  spring,  and  to  take  the  first 
place  in  the  confirmation-class.  His  heart  beat 
fast  as  he  thought  of  it,  and  even  before  he 
could  hear  his  father's  axe  in  the  trembling 
underwood,  this  wish  had  taken  a  stronger  hold 
of  him  than  anything  since  he  was  born. 

56 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

His  father,  as  usual,  did  not  say  much  to 
him  ;  they  hewed  each  by  himself  and  collected 
the  wood  into  heaps.  Now  and  then  they  would 
meet,  and  on  one  of  these  occasions  Eyvind 
remarked  gloomily : 

*'  A  cottar  has  a  hard  time  of  it." 

*'  Not  worse  than  other  people,"  said  his 
father,  spitting  in  his  hands  and  taking  up  his 
axe.  When  the  tree  was  felled  and  his  father 
dragged  it  up  into  the  pile,  Eyvind  said  : 

"  If  you  had  a  farm  of  your  own  you  wouldn't 
have  to  toil  Hke  that." 

**  Oh,  then  there  would  be  other  burdens  to 
bear,"  and  he  tugged  with  all  his  strength. 

The  mother  came  up  with  their  dinner,  and 
they  sat  down.  The  mother  was  cheerful ;  she 
sat  and  hummed,  keeping  time  by  tapping  one 
shoe  against  the  other. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  be,  now  3'ou're 
getting  big,  Eyvind  ?  "  said  she  suddenly. 

"A  cottar's  son  hasn't  much  choice,"  he  answered* 

"The  schoolmaster  says  you  must  go  to  the 
training-college,"  said  she. 

57 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

"  Can  you  go  there  for  nothing  ? "  asked 
Eyvind. 

"  The  schoolmaster  will  pay  your  fees,"  said 
his  father,  as  he  ate. 

"  Would  you  like  to  go  ?  "  asked  his  mother. 

"  I  should  like  to  learn,  but  not  to  be  a 
schoolmaster." 

They  were  all  silent  for  a  moment ;  she  began 
humming  again  and  looked  straight  before  her. 
But  Eyvind  went  off  and  sat  down  by  himself. 

"We  don't  exactly  need  to  borrow  from  the 
school-fund,"  said  she  when  the  boy  had  gone. 
Her  husband  looked  at  her. 

''  Poor  folks  hke  us  ?  " 

"  I  don't  like  your  constantly  giving  yourself 
out  for  a  poor  man  when  you're  not  one." 

They  both  glanced  at  the  boy  to  see  whether 
he  was  within  hearing.  Then  the  husband 
looked  sharply  at  his  wife. 

"  You're  talking  of  what  you  don't  understand." 
She  laughed. 

"It's  like  not  thanking  God  that  things  have 
gone  well  with  us,"  said  she,  becoming  serious. 

58 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

"We  can  surely  thank  him  without  putting 
silver  buttons  on  our  coats,"  said  the  father. 

*'  Yes,  but  not  by  letting  Eyvind  go  as  he  did 
to  the  dance  yesterday." 

**  Eyvind  is  a  cottar's  son." 

''That's  no  reason  why  he  shouldn't  be 
decently  dressed,  since  we  can  afford  it." 

''  That's  right — talk  so  that  he  can  hear." 

''  He  doesn't  hear ;  but  I  shouldn't  be  sorry 
if  he  did,"  said  she,  looking  boldly  at  her 
husband  who  was  frowning,  and  put  down  his 
spoon  to  take  up  his  pipe. 

''Such  a  wretched  holding  as  we  have,"  said 
he. 

"  I  can't  help  laughing  at  you,  always  talking 
about  the  holding.  Why  do  you  never  say 
anything  about  the  mills  ?  " 

''  Oh,  you  and  your  mills !  I  believe  you 
can't  bear  to  hear  them  going." 

"  Oh,  I  love  it,  thank  goodness !  I  wish 
they  were  going  night  and  day." 

"  They've  been  standing  now  since  before 
Christmas." 

59 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

"People  don't  have  their  corn  ground  in 
Christmas  week." 

"  They  have  it  ground  whenever  there's 
water;  but  since  they  got  a  mill  at  Nystrom, 
things  have  been  very  slack." 

"  The  schoolmaster  didn't  say  so  to-day." 

**  I  shall  get  a  closer  fellow  than  the  school- 
master to  manage  our  money." 

''Yes,  your  own  wife  is  the  last  person  he 
ought  to  speak  to." 

Thore  did  not  answer  this,  he  had  just  got 
his  pipe  lighted ;  he  leant  up  against  a  bundle 
of  faggots  and  shifted  his  gaze,  first  from  his 
wife,  then  from  his  son,  until  at  last  he  fixed  it 
upon  an  old  crow's  nest  which  hung  all  askew 
on  a  fir-branch  a  little  way  off. 

Eyyind  sat  by  himself,  with  the  future  stretch- 
ing before  him  like  a  long,  clear  sheet  of  ice, 
over  which,  for  the  first  time,  he  let  his  fancy 
sweep  him  away  from  the  one  shore  right  to  the 
other.  He  felt  that  poverty  barred  the  way  on 
all  sides,  but  for  that  very  reason  all  his 
thoughts  were  bent  upon  overcoming  it.     From 

60 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

Marit  it  had  no  doubt  parted  him  for  ever ;  he 
regarded  her  as  almost  promised  to  John  Hatlen ; 
but  his  whole  mind  was  set  upon  making  life  a 
race  with  him  and  her.  In  order  not  to  be 
elbowed  aside  again  as  he  was  yesterday,  he 
would  hold  aloof  until  he  had  made  his  way; 
and  that,  with  God's  help,  he  would  make  his 
way,  it  never  entered  his  head  to  doubt.  He 
had  a  dim  feeling  that  his  best  plan  was  to  stick 
to  his  books ;  to  what  end  they  should  lead  he 
must  find  out  later. 

The  snow  was  fit  for  sledging  in  the  evening, 
the  children  came  to  the  slope,  but  not  Eyvind. 
He  sat  by  the  fire  and  read,  and  had  not  a 
moment  to  spare.  The  children  waited  for  a 
long  time ;  at  last  some  of  them  got  impatient, 
came  up  and  put  their  faces  against  the  window- 
panes  and  called  in,  but  he  made  as  though  he 
did  not  hear.  Others  came,  and  evening  after 
evening  they  hung  about  outside  in  great  sur- 
prise ;  but  he  turned  his  back  on  them  and  read, 
and  fought  faithfully  to  grasp  the  meaning.     He 

afterwards  heard  that  Marit  did  not  come  either, 

6i 


I 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

He  studied  with  such  diligence  that  even  his 
father  could  not  but  think  he  was  overdoing  it. 
He  grew  very  grave  ;  his  face,  which  had  been  so 
round  and  soft,  became  thinner,  sharper,  and  his 
eye  harder.  He  seldom  sang,  and  never  played  ; 
he  never  seemed  to  have  time  enough.  When 
temptation  came  upon  him,  it  seemed  as  though 
some  one  whispered :  "  By-and-by,  by-and-by  !  " 
and  always  "  by-and-by  !  "  For  some  time  the 
children  ran  on  their  snow  shoes,  and  shouted 
and  laughed  as  before,  but  as  they  could  not 
tempt  him  out  to  them  either  by  the  merry 
sounds  of  their  sledging  or  by  calling  in  to  him 
with  their  faces  against  the  window,  they  gradu- 
ally kept  away ;  they  found  other  playgrounds, 
and  soon  the  slope  was  deserted. 

But  the  schoolmaster  soon  noticed  that  it  was 
not  the  old  Eyvind  who  learnt  his  lessons  as  a 
matter  of  course,  and  played  as  a  matter  of 
necessity.  He  often  talked  with  him  and  tried 
to  draw  him  out ;  but  he  could  not  get  at  the 
boy's  heart   so  easily  as  in  the  old  days.     He 

also   talked   to  his   parents,    and,  having  taken 

62 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

counsel  with  them,  he  came  down  one  Sunday 
•vening  late  in  the  winter  and  said,  when  he 
nad  sat  for  some  time : 

*'  Come  along,  Eyvind,  let  us  go  out  a  little ; 
I  want  to  have  a  talk  with  you." 

Eyvind  put  on  his  things  and  went  with  him. 
They  happened  to  take  the  direction  of  the  Hill 
Farms,  conversing  freely  on  indifferent  subjects. 
When  they  drew  near  the  farms,  the  school- 
master turned  off  towards  one  which  lay  in  the 
middle,  and  as  they  advanced  they  heard  shouts 
and  sounds  of  merriment  proceeding  from  it. 

"  What's  going  on  here  ?  "  asked  Eyvind. 

"A  dance,"  said  the  schoolmaster,  "shall  we 
not  go  in  ?  " 

'•  No." 

*'  Won't  you  join  in  a  dance,  my  boy  ?  " 

**  No,  not  yet." 

'*  Not  yet  ?     When,  then  ?  " 

He  did  not  answer. 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  yet  ?  " 

As  the  boy  still  made  no  answer  the  school- 
master said  : 

63 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

"  Come  now,  no  nonsense." 

*'  No,  I'm  not  going  in  ! " 

He  was  very  determined  and  agitated  besides. 

'^  Strange  thatyourold  schoolmaster  should  have 
to  stand  here  and  entreat  you  to  go  to  a  dance !  " 

There  was  a  long  silence. 

"Is  there  some  one  in  there  whom  you're 
afraid  to  see  ?  " 

"  How  should  I  know  who  is  there  ?  " 

*'  But  there  might  be  some  one  ?  " 

Eyvind  was  silent. 

Then  the  schoolmaster  went  close  up  to  him 
and  laid  his  hand  on  his  shoulder. 

*'  Are  you  afraid  of  seeing  Marit  ?  " 

Eyvind  looked  to  the  ground,  and  his  breath- 
ing became  heavy  and  short. 

"  Tell  me,  Eyvind." 

Eyvind  was  silent. 

**  I  daresay  you  don't  like  to  own  it,  since 
you're  not  confirmed  ;  but  tell  me  all  the  same, 
my  dear  Eyvind,  and  you  sha'n't  repent  it." 

Eyvind  looked  up,  but  could  not  get  out  a 
word,  and  had  to  look  away  again. 

64 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

**  I  could  see  you  hadn't  been  happy  lately ; 
does  she  care  more  for  others  than  for  you  ?  " 

As  Eyvind  did  not  answer  even  now,  the 
schoolmaster  felt  rather  hurt  and  turned  from 
him.     They  walked  homewards. 

When  they  had  gone  a  good  way,  the 
schoolmaster  stopped  to  let  Eyvind  overtake  him. 

"I  suppose  you're  longing  to  be  confirmed," 
said  he. 

"  Yes." 

"  What  do  you  mean  to  do  afterwards  ?  " 

"  I  should  like  to  go  to  the  training-college." 

"  And  be  a  schoolmaster  ?  " 

**  No." 

"  You're  above  that,  eh  ?  " 

Eyvind  was  silent.  They  again  went  on  a 
good  way. 

"When  you've  been  to  the  training-college, 
i  what  then  ?  " 

"  I  haven't  really  thought  about  that." 

"If  you  had  money  I  suppose  you'd  like  to 
buy  a  farm  ?  " 

**  Yes,  but  keep  the  mills." 

65  E 


A   HAPPY   BOY 

"  Then  it  would  be  better  for  you  to  go  to  the 
School  of  Agriculture." 

"  Do  they  learn  as  much  there  as  at  the 
training-college  ?  " 

"  Oh  no,  but  they  learn  what's  going  to  be  of 
use  to  them  afterwards." 

"  Can  you  take  honours  there,  too  ?  " 

*'  Why  do  you  ask  ?  " 

"  I  should  like  to  learn  things  thoroughly." 

*'  That  you  can  do  without  taking  honours." 

They  walked  on  again  in  silence  till  they  saw 
Pladsen ;  a  light  shone  out  from  the  sitting- 
room,  the  rock  loomed  darkly  in  the  winter 
night,  the  lake  lay  below  covered  with  smooth, 
sparkling  ice,  the  wood,  with  no  snow  on  it, 
encircled  the  still  cove ;  the  moon  shone  out  and 
mirrored  the  wood  in  the  ice. 

**  It  is  beautiful  here  at  Pladsen,"  said  the 
schoolmaster.  Eyvind  could  sometimes  see 
it  with  the  same  eyes  as  when  his  mother 
told  fairy-tales,  or  with  the  vision  he  had  when 
he  raced  down  the  hill  on  his  sledge:  so  he 
saw   it   now  ;    everything   seemed   elevated  and 

clear. 

66 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

*'  Yes,  it  is  beautiful  here,"  he  said,  but 
sighed  as  he  spoke. 

"Your  father  has  been  contented  with  the 
holding;  couldn't  you  be  contented  here  too  ?" 

The  happy  vision  of  the  place  all  at  once 
vanished.  The  schoolmaster  stood  as  though 
waiting  for  an  answer ;  receiving  none,  he  shook 
his  head,  and  they  went  indoors.  He  sat  there 
awhile  with  them,  but  had  very  little  to  say,  so 
that  the  others  became  silent  too.  When  he 
said  good-bye,  both  husband  and  wife  went  out- 
side the  door  with  him;  they  seemed  to 
expect  him  to  say  something.  Meanwhile  they 
all  three  stood  looking  up  at  the  evening  sky. 

*'  It  seems  so  unnaturally  quiet  here,"  said 
the  mother  at  length,  "since  the  children  have 
gone  elsewhere  to  play." 

"And  you  have  no  longer  a  child  in  the 
house,"  said  the  schoolmaster. 

The  mother  understood  what  he  meant. 

"  Eyvind  is  not  happy  of  late,"  said  she. 

"  Oh  no,  he  who  is  ambitious  is  not  happy." 

He  looked  with  an   old  man's  peace  up  into 

God's  silent  sky. 

67 


CHAPTER   VI 

Six  months  later,  that  is  to  say  in  the  autumn 
(the  confirmation  had  been  put  off  till  then),  the 
candidates  for  confirmation  sat  in  the  servants' 
hall  of  the  minister's  house  waiting  to  be  called 
in  for  examination,  and  amongst  them  Eyvind  of 
Pladsen  and  Marit  of  the  Hill  Farms.  Marit 
had  just  come  down  from  the  minister's  room 
where  she  had  received  a  beautiful  book  and 
much  commendation.  She  laughed  and  chatted 
with  her  girl-friends  on  all  sides,  and  looked 
round  amongst  the  boys.  Marit  was  now  a  full- 
grown  girl,  light  and  free  in  all  her  movements, 
and  the  boys  as  well  as  the  girls  knew  that  the 
finest  bachelor  of  the  village,  John  Hatlen,  was 
paying  court  to  her ;  she  might  well  be  happy 
as  she  sat  there.     By  the  door  stood  some  girls 

and  boys  who  had  not  passed ;  they  were  crying 

68 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

whilst  Marit  and  her  friends  laughed.  Amongst 
them  was  a  little  boy  in  his  father's  boots  and 
his  mother's  Sunday  kerchief. 

"  Oh  God,  oh  God  ! "  he  sobbed,  '^  I  daren't 
go  home  again." 

This  seized  those  who  had  not  yet  been  up, 
with  the  force  of  fellow-feeling ;  there  was  a 
general  silence.  Anxiety  clouded  their  eyes  and 
gripped  them  by  the  throat ;  they  could  not  see 
distinctly,  and  neither  could  they  swallow, 
though  they  constantly  wanted  to.  One  sat  and 
went  over  all  he  knew,  and  though  he  had 
discovered  some  hours  before  that  he  knew 
everything,  he  now  found  out  with  equal  cer- 
tainty that  he  knew  nothing — could  not  even 
read.  A  second  went  over  his  whole  list  of 
sins,  from  as  far  back  as  he  could  remember,  till 
now,  and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  would 
not  be  in  the  least  wonderful  if  Our  Lord  did  not 
let  him  pass.  A  third  sat  and  watched  every- 
thing in  the  room :  if  the  clock,  which  was  on 
the  point  of  striking,  did  not  begin  until  he  had 
counted  twenty,  he  would  pass;  if  the  person 

69 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

he  beard  coming  into  the  passage  was  the  stable- 
bo3%  Lars,  he  would  pass  ;  if  the  big  raindrop 
that  was  creeping  down  the  window  came  right 
to  the  frame,  he  would  pass.  The  last  and 
decisive  proof  was  to  be  whether  he  could  get 
his  right  foot  twisted  round  his  left,  and  this  he 
found  quite  impossible.  A  fourth  was  sure  that 
if  he  was  questioned  on  Joseph  in  history  and 
on  baptism  in  doctrine,  or  on  Saul,  or  on  the 
Decalogue,  or  on  Jesus  or — he  was  still  going 
over  it  all  when  his  turn  came.  A  fifth  had  set 
his  heart  on  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount ;  he  had 
dreamt  of  the  sermon,  he  was  sure  he  would  be 
questioned  on  the  sermon ;  he  went  over  the 
sermon  to  himself,  he  had  to  slip  out  to  read  the 
sermon  over  again — then  his  turn  came,  and  he 
was  examined  on  the  major  and  minor  prophets. 
A  sixth  thought  of  the  minister,  what  a  kind 
man  he  was,  and  how  well  he  knew  his  father 
and  mother ;  and  of  the  schoolmaster,  who  had 
such  a  gentle  face  ;  and  of  God,  who  was  so 
very  gracious  and  had  helped  many  before,  both 
Jacob  and  Joseph  ;  and  then  he  thought  how  his 

70 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

mother  and  sisters  were  at  home  praying  for 
him,  and  that  was  sure  to  help.  The  seventh 
sat  and  knocked  down  all  the  castles  in  the  air 
he  had  built.  First  he  had  determined  to  be- 
come a  king,  then  a  general  or  a  minister — that 
stage  had  long  been  past :  but  until  he  had 
entered  this  room  he  had  still  thought  of  going 
to  sea  and  becoming  a  captain,  perhaps  a  pirate, 
and  amassing  enormous  wealth  :  then  he  gave 
up  the  idea  of  riches,  then  the  idea  of  becoming 
a  pirate,  then  of  becoming  a  captain,  then  of 
becoming  a  mate ;  he  stopped  at  common  sailor 
or  at  highest  boatswain — it  was  even  possible 
that  he  would  not  go  to  sea  at  all,  but  set  to 
work  on  his  father's  farm.  The  eighth  was  a 
little  more  confident,  yet  not  quite  sure  of  pass- 
ing ;  for  not  even  the  cleverest  could  be  quite 
sure.  He  thought  of  the  clothes  he  had  got  to 
be  confirmed  in,  and  what  they  would  be  used 
for  if  he  didn't  pass.  But  if  he  passed  he  was 
to  go  to  town  and  get  splendid  Sunday  clothes, 
and  come  home  again  and  dance  at  Christmas,  to 
the  envy  of  all  the  boys  and  the  admiration  of 

71 


A, HAPPY    BOY 

all  the  girls.  The  ninth  reckoned  otherwise ; 
he  opened  a  little  account  with  God  in  which  he 
placed  upon  the  one  side  as  Debit :  '  He  will 
allow  me  to  pass/  and  on  the  other  side  as 
Credit :  *  I  will  never  tell  any  more  lies,  nor 
gossip,  will  always  go  to  church,  let  the  girls 
alone,  and  break  myself  of  swearing.'  But  the 
tenth  thought  that  as  Ole  Hansen  had  passed 
last  year,  it  would  be  worse  than  injustice  if  he 
did  not  pass  this  year,  for  he  had  always  been 
above  him  at  school,  and  besides,  his  parents 
were  more  respectable.  At  his  side  sat  the 
eleventh,  nursing  the  most  bloodthirsty  plans  for 
revenge  in  case  he  did  not  pass — he  was  going 
either  to  set  fire  to  the  school,  or  leave  the 
neighbourhood  and  come  back  as  a  fulminating 
ludge  to  call  the  minister  and  the  whole  school- 
commission  to  account,  and  "then  magnanimously 
let  mercy  stand  for  justice.  As  a  beginning  he 
would  go  into  service  with  the  minister  of  the 
next  parish,  and  there  be  first  in  the  examination 
next  year,  and  answer  so  that  the  whole  church 
should  wonder  and  admire.     But  the  twelfth  sat 

72 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

by  himself  underneath  the  clock,  with  both 
hands  in  his  pockets,  and  looked  sorrowfully  at 
the  rest.  No  one  knew  what  a  burden  he  bore 
and  what  anxiety  was  racking  him.  But  at 
home  there  was  one  who  knew  it — for  he  was 
betrothed.  A  big,  long-legged  spider  crept  over 
the  floor  and  came  near  his  foot :  he  used  always 
to  tread  upon  the  ugly  insects,  but  to-day  he 
lifted  his  foot  tenderly  and  let  it  pass  in  peace. 
His  voice  was  as  mild  as  a  collect;  his  eyes 
kept  on  repeating  that  all  men  were  good  ;  his 
hand  moved  humbly  from  his  pocket  to  his  hair, 
in  order  to  smooth  it  down.  If  he  could  only 
wriggle  by  hook  or  by  crook  through  this  terrible 
needle's  eye,  he  would  soon  swell  out  again  on 
the  other  side,  chew  tobacco  and  make  his  en- 
gagement public.  On  a  low  stool,  with  his  legs 
bent  underneath  him,  sat  the  restless  thirteenth  ; 
his  small  sparkling  eyes  made  the  round  of  the 
room  three  times  in  a  second :  and  inside  the 
strong,  rough  head  the  thoughts  of  all  the  other 
twelve  were  tossing  about  in  wild  confusion,  from 
the  brightest  hope  to  the  darkest  despair,  from 

73 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

the  humblest  resolves  to  the  most  annihilating 
plans  of  vengeance  ;  and  meanwhile  he  had  eaten 
up  all  the  loose  skin  from  his  right  thumb  and 
was  now  busy  with  his  nails,  of  which  he 
scattered  great  fragments  on  the  floor. 

Eyvind  sat  over  by  the  window ;  he  had 
been  up  and  answered  everything  he  was  asked, 
but  the  minister  had  said  nothing  nor  the 
schoolmaster  either.  He  had  been  thinking  for 
more  than  six  months  what  both  would  say 
when  they  came  to  know  how  he  had  worked, 
and  he  now  felt  disappointed,  and  hurt  withal. 
There  sat  Marit  who,  for  far  less  labour  and 
knowledge,  had  received  both  encouragement  and 
reward.  It  was  precisely  for  the  sake  of  shining 
in  her  eyes  that  he  had  toiled,  and  now  she 
laughingly  enjoyed  all  that  he  had  worked  for 
with  so  much  self-renunciation.  Her  laughter 
and  joking  burnt  into  his  soul,  the  freedom  with 
which  she  carried  herself  hurt  him.  He  had 
sedulously  avoided  speaking  to  her  since  that 
evening;  *' I  won't  for  years  yet,"  he  thought; 
but  the  sight  of  her  sitting  there,  so  gay  and 

74 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

at  her  ease,  crushed  him  to  the  earth,  and  all 
his  proud  projects  drooped  like  leaves  in  the 
rain. 

Little  by  little,  however,  he  tried  to  shake  off 
the  depression.  The  thing  was  to  know  whether 
he  was  Number  One  to-day,  and  for  this  he 
waited.  The  schoolmaster  generally  remained  a 
little  while  in  the  minister's  room  to  arrange  the 
young  folks  in  order,  and  then  came  down  to 
announce  the  result ;  not  the  final  order,  indeed, 
but  that  which  the  minister  and  himself  had 
provisionally  agreed  upon.  Conversation  in  the 
room  became  livelier  by  degrees,  as  more  and 
more  were  examined  and  passed.  But  now  it 
became  easy  to  distinguish  the  ambitious  from 
the  contented  ones  ;  the  latter,  so  soon  as  they 
could  get  company  on  the  way,  went  off  to  tell 
their  parents  of  their  good  luck,  or  else  waited 
for  others  who  had  not  yet  been  examined ;  the 
former,  on  the  contrary,  became  quieter  and 
quieter,  straining  their  eyes  towards  the  door. 

At  length  all  had  been  examined,  the  last  had 
come  down,  and  the  schoolmaster  was  now  con- 

75 


A    HAPPY    BOl!' 

suiting  with  the  minister.  Eyvind  looked  at 
Marit ;  she  seemed  quite  indifferent,  but  remained 
sitting,  whether  on  her  own  or  on  some  one  else's 
account,  he  did  not  know.  How  lovely  Marit 
had  grown  !  He  had  never  seen  such  a  dazzHngly 
soft  complexion ;  her  nose  turned  up  a  little, 
her  mouth  was  smiling.  Her  eyes  were  half- 
closed  when  she  did  not  just  happen  to  be 
looking  at  you,  but  that  gave  her  glance  an 
unexpected  brilliance  when  it  came — and,  as  it 
to  explain  that  she  meant  nothing  by  it,  she 
would  half  smile  at  the  same  time.  Her  hair 
was  rather  dark  than  fair,  but  it  curled  in  little 
ringlets  and  came  far  forward  at  the  sides — so 
that  together  with  her  half-closed  eyes  it  gave 
her  face  an  effect  of  mystery  which  it  seemed 
one  could  never  quite  fathom.  It  was  impossible 
to  tell  exactly  at  whom  she  was  looking  when 
she  sat  by  herself  or  among  others,  or  what  she 
was  really  thinking  of  when  she  turned  and 
talked  to  any  one — for  she  seemed  immediately 
to  take  back  what  she  gave. 

"No  doubt  John  Hatlen  is  lurking  under  al] 

76 


A    HAPPY   BOY 

this,"  thought  Eyvind ;  but  still  he  kept  on 
looking  at  her. 

Now  the  schoolmaster  came.  They  all  started 
from  their  seats  and  crowded  round  him. 

"What's  my  number  ?  " 

"And  mine?" 

"And  mine,  mine?" 

"Hush  you  overgrown  children,  no  noise 
here  ;  be  quiet  boys,  and  you  shall  hear." 

He  looked  slowly  round. 

"You  are  Number  Two,"  said  he  to  a  boy 
with  blue  eyes  who  was  looking  beseechingly  at 
him,  and  the  boy  danced  out  of  the  ring. 

"You  are  Number  Three,"  and  he  gave  a 
little  slap  to  a  red-haired,  active  little  fellow  who 
stood  pulling  his  coat. 

"You  are  Number  Five,  you  Number  Eight," 
and  so  on.     He  caught  sight  of  Marit. 

"  You  are  Number  One  of  the  girls."  She 
flushed  crimson  all  over  her  face  and  neck,  but 
tried  to  smile. 

"  You,  Number  Twelve,  have  been  lazy,  you 
rascal,   and    a    great    vagabond ;    you    Number 

77 


A   HAPPY    BOY 

Eleven  couldn't  expect  anything  better,  my  boy ; 
you,  Number  Thirteen,  must  study  hard  and  come 
to  the  repetition  class,  else  you'll  come  off  badly." 

Eyvind  could  bear  it  no  longer;  it  was  true 
Number  One  had  not  been  mentioned,  but  he 
was  standing  the  whole  time  where  the  school- 
master could  see  him. 

*' Master  I  "—he  did  not  hear.  '*  Master  I" 
He  had  to  repeat  it  three  times  before  he  was 
heard.     At  last  the  schoolmaster  looked  at  him. 

"Number  Nine  or  Ten,  I  don't  exactly  re- 
member which,"  said  he,  and  turned  to  the 
others. 

"  Who  is  Number  One  then  ?  "  asked  Hans, 
who  was  Eyvind's  great  friend. 

*'  Not  you,  curly  pate  I  "  said  the  schoolmaster, 
hitting  him  over  the  knuckles  with  a  roll  of 
paper. 

"Who  is  it  then?"  asked  several.  "Who  is 
it — yes,  who  is  it  ?  " 

"  The  one  who  has  the  number  will  be  told  of 
it,"  answered  the  schoolmaster,  severely ;  he 
would  have  no  more  questions. 

78 


A    HAPPY   BOY 

"  Go  home  nicely  now,  children,  thank  your 
God  and  gladden  your  parents  I  Thank  your 
old  schoolmaster  too ;  you  would  have  been 
badly  enough  off  without  him  !" 

They  thanked  him  and  laughed,  they  dis- 
persed rejoicing,  for  at  this  moment  when  they 
were  to  go  home  to  their  parents  they  were  all 
happy.  But  one  there  was  who  could  not 
immediately  find  his  books  and  who,  when  he 
did  find  them,  sat  down  as  if  to  con  them  all 
over  again. 

The  schoolmaster  went  up  to  him. 

"Well,  Eyvind,  aren't  you  going  with  the 
others  ?  " 

He  did  not  answer. 

"  What  are  you  looking  up  in  your  books  ?  " 

*'  I  want  to  see  what  I  have  answered  wrong 
to-day." 

"  I  don't  think  you  answered  anything 
wrong." 

Then  Eyvind  looked  at  him,  the  tears  in 
his  eyes ;  he  looked  fixedly  At  him  whilst 
one   tear  after  another  ran   down,  but  he  said 

79 


A   HAPPY   BOY 

not  a  word.  The  schoolmaster  sat  down  in 
front  of  him. 

"  Are  you  not  glad  now  that  you've  passed  ?  " 

His  mouth  quivered  but  he  did  not  answer. 

"Your  father  and  mother  will  be  very  much 
pleased,"  said  the  schoolmaster  looking  at 
him. 

Eyvind  struggled  a  long  time  to  get  a  word 
out,  at  last  he  asked  him,  speaking  low  and  in 
broken  phrases : 

*^  Is  it — because  I — am  a  cottar's  son — that  I 
am  Number  Nine  or  Ten  ?  " 

*'  No  doubt  it  is,"  answered  the  schoolmaster. 

*'  Then  it's  no  good  for  me  to  work,"  said  he 
in  a  dead  voice,  crushed  under  the  wreck  of  his 
dreams.  Suddenly  he  raised  his  head,  lifted 
his  right  hand,  struck  the  table  with  all  his 
might,  flung  himself  on  his  face  and  burst  into 
an  agony  of  weeping. 

The  schoolmaster  let  him  lie  and  have  his  cry 
right  out.  It  lasted  a  long  time,  but  the  school- 
master waited  until  the  weeping  became  more 
like  that  of  a  child.     Then  he  took  the   boy's 

80 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

head  between  his  hands,  lifted  it  up  and  looked 
into  the  tear-stained  face. 

*'  Do  you  think  it  is  God  who  has  been  with 
you  now  ? "  said  he,  putting  his  arm  tenderly 
round  his  shoulders. 

Eyvind  was  still  sobbing,  but  not  so  violently  ; 
the  tears  flowed  more  slowly,  but  he  did  not  dare 
to  look  at  his  questioner,  nor  yet  to  answer. 

*'  This,  Eyvind,  has   been   your  just   reward. 
You  have  not  studied  for  the  love  of  heaven  and 
^your  parents;    you   have   studied    for    vanity's 
sake." 

It  was  all  silent  in  the  room  in  the  intervals 
of  the  schoolmaster's  speaking.  Eyvind  felt 
his  gaze  resting  on  him  and  he  was  melted  and 
humbled  by  it. 

"With  such  anger  in  your  heart  you  could 
not  have  presented  yourself  to  make  a  covenant 
with  your  God  ;  could  you,  Eyvind  ?  " 

**  No,"  he  stammered  as  well  as  he  could. 

**  And  if  you  stood  there  in  vainglorious  joy 
because  you  were  Number  One,  would  you  not  be 
bringing  sin  to  the  altar  ?  "         ^ 

Si  f 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

"  Yes,"  whispered  he,  with  trembling  lips. 

"  You  still  love  me,  Eyvind  ?  " 

*'  Yes  ;"  and  he  looked  up  for  the  first  time. 

"  Then  I  will  tell  you  that  it  was  I  who  got 
you  placed  lower ;  for  I  love  you  so  much, 
Eyvind  1 " 

The  other  looked  at  him,  blinked  several 
times,  and  the  tears  rained  down  thickly. 

"  You  don't  bear  me  a  grudge  for  it  ?  " 

"No."  He  looked  up  fully  and  clearly 
although  he  was  nearly  choked. 

"  My  dear  child  !  I  will  take  care  of  you  as 
long  as  i  live." 

The  schoolmaster  waited  for  him  until  he  had 
pulled  himself  together  and  arranged  his  books, 
and  then  said  he  would  go  home  with  him. 
They  walked  £iowly  homewards ;  at  first  Eyvind 
was  still  silent  and  struggling  with  himself,  but 
gradually  he  got  into  a  better  frame  of  mind. 
He  felt  quite  sure  that  what  had  happened  was 
for  the  best,  and  before  they  reached  home  his 
conviction  had  become  so  strong  that  he  thanked 

God  and  told  the  schoolmaster. 

82 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

"Ah,  now  we  can  think  about  doing  some- 
thing in  Hfe,"  said  the  schoolmaster,  "  and  not 
run  after  nothings  and  numbers.  What  do  you 
say  to  the  seminary  ?  " 

**  Yes,  I  should  like  to  go  there." 

"  You  mean  the  Agricultural  College  ?  " 

*'Yes." 

"  That's  certainly  the  best ;  it  offers  better 
prospects  than  schoolmastering." 

*'  But  how  shall  I  get  there  ?  I  want  so  much 
to  go,  but  I've  no  money." 

**  Be  industrious  and  good  and  we  shall  find 
means." 

Eyvind  was  quite  overcome  with  gratitude. 
He  had  that  sparkle  of  the  eye,  that  lightness  of 
breath,  that  infinite  fire  of  love  which  comes  over 
one  when  one  feels  the  unexpected  goodness  of  a 
human  creature.  The  whole  future  presents 
itself  for  a  moment  like  wandering  in  the  fresh 
mountain  air ;  one  seems  to  be  wafted  forward 
without  effort. 

When  they  got  home,  both  parents  were  in  the 
room  where  they  had  been  sitting  in  silent  ex- 

83 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

pectation,  although  it  was  working-time  and  they 
were   busy.      The    schoolmaster   went   in   first 
Eyvind  followed  ;  both  were  smiling. 

"  Well  ?  "  said  the  father,  laying  down  a  hymn 
book  in  which  he  had  just  been  reading  "  A 
Communicant's  Prayer."  The  mother  stood  by 
the  fireplace  and  dared  not  speak :  she  laughed 
but  her  hands  were  unsteady ;  she  evidently 
expected  good  news,  but  would  not  betray  her- 
self. 

"  I  thought  I'd  just  come  with  him,  for  I  knew 
how  glad  you  would  be  to  hear,  that  he  answered 
every  question,  and  that  the  minister  said  when 
Eyvind  had  gone  that  he  has  never  had  a  better- 
prepared  candidate." 

"  Oh,  did  he  really  ! "  said  his  mother,  much 
moved. 

"  That  was  good,"  said  his  father,  clearing  his 
throat  undecidedly. 

After  a  long  silence  the  mother  asked  softly : 

*'  What  Number  will  he  get  ?  " 

"  Number  Nine  or  Ten,"  said  the  schoolmaster, 
calmly. 

84 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

The  mother  looked  at  the  father,  and  he  looked 
first  at  her  and  then  at  Eyvind. 

"  A  cottar's  son  can  expect  no  more,"  said  he. 

Eyvind  looked  back  at  him  ;  he  felt  as  if  the 
tears  would  rise  to  his  throat  again,  but  he  con- 
trolled himself  by  hastily  calling  to  mind  things 
dear  to  him,  one  after  another,  until  the  impulse 
subsided. 

**  I  had  better  go  now,"  said  the  schoolmaster* 
nodding  and  turning  away.  Both  parents  went 
out  with  him  as  usual  to  the  doorstep ;  here 
the  schoolmaster  cut  a  quid  of  tobacco  and  said 
smiling : 

"  He  will  be  Number  One  all  the  same  ;  but 
had  better  not  hear  of  it  until  the  day  comes." 

*'  No,  no,"  said  his  father,  nodding. 

"  No,  no,"  said  his  mother,  nodding  too ;  then 
she  took  the  schoolmaster's  hand  :  "  You  must 
let  us  thank  you  for  all  you  have  done  for  him," 
said  she. 

**  Yes,  we  thank  you,"  said  the  father,  and  the 
schoolmaster  went  away ;  but  they  stood  a  long 
time  looking  after  him. 

85 


^      i 


CHAPTER  VII 

The  schoolmaster  had  gone  on  the  right 
track  when  he  advised  the  minister  to  put 
Eyvind's  fitness  to  the  test.  During  the  three 
weeks  which  elapsed  before  the  confirmation  he 
was  with  the  boy  every  day.  It  is  one  thing  for 
a  young  and  tender  soul  to  receive  an  impression, 
and  another  thing  to  retain  it  steadfastly.  Many 
dark  hours  fell  upon  the  boy  before  he  learnt  to 
take  the  measure  of  his  future  by  better  standards 
than  those  of  vanity  and  display.  Every  now  and 
then,  in  the  very  midst  of  his  work,  his  pleasure 
in  it  would  slip  away  from  him.  *  To  what  end  ?  * 
he  would  think,  '  what  shall  I  gain  ?  '  and  then  a 
moment  afterwards  he  would  remember  the  school- 
master's words  and  his  kindness  ;  but  he  needed 
this  human  stand-by  to  help  him  up  again  every 
time  he  fell  away  from  the  sense  of  his  higher  duty, 

^6 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

During  those  days  preparations  were  going  on 
at  Pladsen  not  only  for  the  confirmation,  but  also 
for  Eyvind's  departure  to  the  Agricultural  College, 
which  was  to  take  place  the  day  after.  The 
tailor  and  shoemaker  were  in  the  house,  his 
mother  was  baking  in  the  kitchen,  his  father  was 
making  a  chest  for  him.  There  was  a  great  deal 
of  talk  about  how  much  he  would  cost  them  in 
two  years ;  about  his  not  being  able  to  come 
home  the  first  Christmas,  perhaps  not  even  the 
second  ;  about  the  love  he  must  feel  for  his  parents 
who  were  wilHng  to  make  such  an  effort  for  their 
child's  sake.  Eyvind  sat  there  like  one  who  had 
put  out  to  sea  on  his  own  account  but  had  cap- 
sized and  was  now  taken  up  by  kindly  people. 

Such  a  feeling  conduces  to  humility,  and  with 
that  comes  much  besides.  As  the  great  day 
drew  near,  he  ventured  to  call  himself  prepared 
and  to  look  forward  with  trustful  devotion. 
Every  time  the  image  of  Marit  tried  to  mingle  in 
his  thoughts  he  put  it  resolutely  aside,  but  felt 
pain  in  doing  so.  He  tried  to  practise  doing 
this,  but  never  grew  stronger ;  on  the  contrary, 

S7 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

it  was  the  pain  that  grew.  He  was  tired,  there- 
fore, the  last  evening  when,  after  a  long  self- 
examination,  he  prayed  that  Our  Lord  might  not 
put  him  to  this  test. 

The  schoolmaster  came  in  as  the  evening  wore 
on.  They  gathered  in  the  sitting-room  after 
they  had  all  washed  and  tidied  themselves, 
according  to  custom  the  evening  before  one  is  to 
go  to  communion.  The  mother  was  agitated, 
the  father  silent ;  parting  lay  beyond  to-morrow's 
ceremony,  and  it  was  uncertain  when  they  would 
all  sit  together  again.  The  schoolmaster  took 
out  the  psalm-books,  they  had  prayers  and  sang, 
and  afterwards  he  said  a  little  prayer  just  as  the 
words  occurred  to  him. 

These  four  persons  sat  together  until  the 
evening  grew  very  late  and  thought  turned  in- 
wards upon  itself;  then  they  parted  with  the 
best  wishes  for  the  coming  day  and  the  compact 
it  was  to  seal.  Eyvind  had  to  own  as  he  lay 
down  that  never  had  he  gone  to  bed  so  happy ; 
and  by  that,  as  he  now  interpreted  it,  he  meant : 

"  Never  have  I  lain  down  so  submissive  to  God's 

38 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

will  and  so  happy  in  it."  Marit's  face  at  once 
came  to  haunt  him  again  ;  and  the  last  thing  he 
was  conscious  of  was  lying  there  saying  to  him- 
self: "Not  quite  happy,  not  quite,"  and  then 
answering :  "  Yes  I  am,  quite,"  and  then  again  : 
"  Not  quite."—"  Yes,  quite."—"  No,  not  quite." 

When  he  awoke,  he  immediately  remembe'.ed 
the  day,  said  his  prayers  and  felt  himself  Gtrong, 
as  one  does  in  the  morning. 

Since  the  summer,  he  had  slept  by  himself  in 
the  loft ;  he  now  got  up  and  put  on  his  hand- 
some new  clothes  carefully,  for  he  had  never 
had  the  like  before.  There  was,  in  particular, 
a  short  jacket  which  he  had  to  touch  a  great 
many  times  before  he  got  used  to  it.  He  got  a 
little  mirror  when  he  had  put  on  his  collar,  and 
for  the  fourth  time  put  on  his  coat.  As  he  now 
saw  his  own  delighted  face,  set  in  extraordinarily 
fair  hair,  smiling  out  at  him  from  the  glass,  it 
struck  him  that  this,  again,  was  doubtless  vanity. 
"Well,  but  people  must  be  well-dressed  and 
clean,"  answered  he,  while  he^rew  back  from  the 

mirror   as   though  it  were  a  sin  to  look   in  it. 

89 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

**  Certainly,  but  not  quite  so  happy  about  it." 
"  No,  but  Our  Lord  must  surely  be  pleased  that 
one  should  like  to  look  nice."  "That  may  be, 
but  He  would  like  it  better  if  you  did  so  without 
being  so  much  taken  up  about  it."  "That's 
true,  but  you  see  it's  ■because  everything  is  so 
ne\j."  "  Yes,  but  then  by  degrees  you  must 
leave  it  off."  He  found  himself  carrying  on 
such  self-  -^^xamining  dialogues  in  his  own  mind, 
now  on  one  subject,  now  on  another,  in  order 
that  no  sin  should  fall  upon  the  day  and  stain  it, 
'  but  he  knew,  too,  that  more  than  that  was 
needed. 

When  he  came  down,  his  parents  were  sitting 
full-dressed,  waiting  breakfast  for  him.  He 
went  and  shook  hands  with  them  and  thanked 
them  for  the  clothes. 

"  May  you  have  health  to  wear  them."  * 

They  seated  themselves  at  table,  said  a  silent 

grace,  and  ate.     The  mother  cleared  the  table 

and  brought  in  the  provision-box  in  preparation 

for   church.     The   father   put   on   his   coat,   the 

*  A  customary  phrase. 
90 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

mother  pinned  her  kerchief,  they  took  their 
hymn-books,  locked  up  the  house  and  set  off. 
When  they  got  upon  the  upper  road  they  found 
it  thronged  with  church-going  folk,  driving  and 
walking,  with  confirmation  candidates  amongst 
them,  and  in  more  than  one  group  white-haired 
grandparents,  determined  to  make  this  one  last 
appearance. 

It  was  an  autumn  day  without  sunshine — 
.  such  as  portends  a  change  of  weather.  Clouds 
gathered  and  parted  again,  sometimes  a  great 
assemblage  would  break  up  into  twenty  smaller 
ones  which  rushed  away  bearing  orders  for  a 
storm ;  but  down  on  the  earth  it  was  as  yet 
still,  the  leaves  hung  lifeless,  not  even  quivering, 
the  air  was  rather  close;  the  people  carried 
cloaks  but  did  not  use  them.  An  unusually 
large  crowd  had  assembled  round  the  high- 
lying  church,  but  the  young  people  who  were  to 
be  confirmed  went  straight  in  to  be  settled  in 
their  places  before  service  began.  Then  it  was 
that  the  schoolmaster,  in  blue  clothes,  tail-coat 
and  knee-breeches,  high   boots,  stiff"  collar,  and 

91 


A    HAPPY   BOY 

his  pipe  sticking  out  of  his  tail-pocket,  came 
down  the  church,  nodded  and  smiled,  slapped 
one  on  the  shoulder,  spoke  a  few  words  to 
another,  reminding  him  to  answer  loud  and 
clear,  and  so  made  his  way  over  to  the  poor- 
box,  where  Eyvind  stood  answering  all  his 
friend  Hans's  questions  with  reference  to  his 
journey. 

"  Good  morning,  Eyvind ;  how  fine  we  are 
to-day," — he  took  him  by  the  coat-collar  as  if  he 
wanted  to  speak  to  him.  *'  Listen ;  I  think  all's 
well  with  you.  I've  just  been  speaking  to  the 
minister :  you  are  to  take  your  place,  go  up  to 
Number  One,  and  answer  distinctly  ! " 

Eyvind  looked  up  at  him  astonished;  the 
schoolmaster  nodded,  the  boy  moved  a  few 
steps,  stopped,  a  few  more  ^  steps  and  stopped 
again.  "Yes,  it's  really  so,  he  has  spoken  for 
me  to  the  minister ; "  and  the  boy  went  up 
quickly. 

"  You're  Number  One  after  all,  then  ?  "  some- 
one whispered  to  him. 

"  Yes,"  answered  Eyvind,  softly,  but  he  still 

92 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

was  not  quite  sure  whether  he  dared  take  his 
place. 

The  marshalHng  was  completed,  the  minister 
arrived,  the  bell  rang,  and  the  people  came 
streaming  in.  Then  Eyvind  saw  Marit  of  the 
Hill  Farms  standing  just  opposite  him.  She 
looked  at  him,  too,  but  both  were  so  impressed 
by  the  sacredness  of  the  place  that  they  dared 
not  greet  each  other.  He  saw  only  that  she 
was  dazzlingly  beautiful  and  was  bareheaded; 
more  than  that  he  did  not  see.  Eyvind  who, 
for  more  than  six  months,  had  been  nursing 
such  great  designs  of  standing  opposite  her, 
now  that  it  had  come  to  the  point  forgot  both 
her  and  the  place — forgot  that  he  had  ever 
thought  of  them. 

When   it   was  all  over,  kinsfolk   and    friends 

came  to   offer   their    congratulations ;    then   his 

comrades  came  to  bid  him  good-bye,  as  they  had 

heard  that  he  was  to  go  away  next  day;  and 

then  came  a  lot  of  little  ones  with  whom  he  had 

sledged  on  the  hills  and  whom  he  had  helped  at 

school,  and   some   even  shed  a  tear  or  two  at 

93 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

leave-taking.  Last  came  the  schoolmaster  and 
shook  hands  silently  with  him  and  his  parents 
and  made  a  sign  to  go, — he  would  come  with 
them.  They  four  were  together  again,  and  this 
evening  was  to  be  the  last.  On  the  way  there 
were  many  more  who  bade  him  good-bye  and 
wished  him  luck,  but  they  did  not  speak  amongst 
themselves  until  they  were  sitting  indoors  at 
home. 

The  schoolmaster  tried  to  keep  up  their 
courage  ;  it  was  evident  that  now  it  had  come 
to  the  point,  they  were  all  three  dreading  the 
long  two  years  separation,  seeing  that  hitherto 
they  had  not  been  parted  for  a  single  day ; 
but  none  of  them  would  own  it.  As  the 
hours  went  on,  the  more  heart-sick  did  Eyvind 
become;  he  had  to  go  out  at  last  to  calm 
himself  a  Httle. 

It  was  dusk  now  and  there  was  a  strange 
soughing  in  the  wind ;  he  stood  on  the  door- 
step and  looked  up.  Then,  from  the  edge 
of  the  rock  he  heard  his  own  name  softly 
called ;  it  was  no  delusion,  for  it  was  twice  re- 

94 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

peated.  He  looked  up  and  made  out  that  a 
girl  was  sitting  crouched  amongst  the  trees  and 
looking  down. 

"Who's  that?"  he  asked. 

*'  I  hear  you  are  going  away,"  said  she,  softly, 
**  so  I  had  to  come  to  you  and  say  good-bye,  as 
you  would  not  come  to  rae." 

"  Why,  is  that  you,  Marit  ?  I  will  come  up  to 
you." 

"  No  don't  do  that,  I  have  waited  such  a  long 
time  and  that  would  make  me  have  to  wait  still 
longer.  Nobody  knows  where  I  am,  and  I  must 
hurry  home  again." 

**  It  was  kind  of  you  to  come,"  said  he. 

"  I  couldn't  bear  that  you  should  go  away 
like  that,  Eyvind;  we  have  known  each  other 
since  we  were  children." 

"Yes,  we  have." 

"And  now  we  haven't  spoken  to  each  other 
for  six  months." 

'*  No,  we  haven't." 

"And    we    parted     so     strangely    the    last 


time." 


95 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

"Yes — I  must  really  come  up  to  you." 

*'No,  no,  don't  do  that!  But  tell  me;  you're 
not  angry  with  me,  are  you  ?" 

"  How  can  you  think  so,  dear  ?  " 

**  Good-bye  then,  Eyvind,  and  thank  you  for 
all  our  life  together ! " 

"  No,  Marit ! " 

**  Yes,  I  must  go  now,  they  will  miss  me." 

"  Marit,  Marit ! " 

"  No,  I  daren't  stop  away  any  longer,  Eyvind ; 
good-bye ! " 

"  Good-bye ! " 

After  that  he  moved  as  if  in  a  dream,  and 
answered  at  random  when  they  spoke  to  him. 
They  put  it  down  to  his  going  away  and  thought 
it  only  natural;  and  indeed  that  was  what  was 
in  his  mind  when  the  schoolmaster  took  leave 
at  night,  and  put  something  into  his  hand 
which  he  afterwards  found  to  be  a  five-dollar 
note. 

But  later  on,  when  he  went  to  bed,  it  was  not 

of  his  going  away  he  was  thinking,  but  of  the 

words  which  had  come  down  from  the  edge  of 

96 


A   HAPPY   BOY 

the  rock  and  of  those  which  had  gone  up  again. 
As  a  child  she  had  not  been  allowed  to  come  to 
the  edge  because  her  grandfather  was  afraid  she 
might  fall  over.  Perhaps  she  would  one  day 
come  over  all  the  same ! 


97 


CHAPTER   VIII 

*'  My  DEAR  Parents, 

*'  We  have  got  a  great  deal  more  work  to  do 
now,  but  now  I  have  nearly  made  up  to  the 
others  so  that  it  is  not  so  hard  upon  me.  And 
there  is  much  that  I  shall  alter  on  the  farm  when 
I  come  home,  for  things  are  very  bad  there,  and 
the  only  wonder  is  that  it  has  held  together  at 
all.  But  I  shall  get  it  all  into  shape  again,  for  I 
have  now  learned  a  great  deal  I  am  longing  to 
get  to  some  place  where  I  can  put  in  practice 
what  I  know,  so  I  must  seek  a  good  position 
when  my  course  is  finished.  Here  they  all  say 
that  John  Hatlen  is  not  so  clever  as  they  think 
at  home ;  but  he  has  a  farm  of  his  own,  and  it's 
his  own  affair  whether  he  knows  much  or  little. 
Man>  who  have  gone  through  our  course  earn 
large  salaries  ;  that  is  because  ours  is  the  best 

93 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

agricultural  college  in  the  country.  Some  say 
that  one  in  the  next  county  is  better,  but  that  is 
not  at  all  true.  Here  they  teach  us  two  things: 
the  first  is  called  theory,  and  the  second  practice, 
and  it  is  good  to  have  them  both,  and  the  one  is 
no  good  without  the  other,  but  still  the  last  is 
the  best.  And  the  first  word  means  to  know 
the  cause  and  reason  for  a  piece  of  work,  but 
the  other  means  to  be  able  to  do  the  work,  for 
instance  as  it  might  be  with  a  bog.  Many  know 
what  ought  to  be  done  with  a  bog,  but  do  it 
wrongly  all  the  same,  for  they  haven't  the  power. 
Many  have  the  power  and  don't  know  the 
reasons  for  things,  and  they  may  go  wrong  too, 
for  there  are  many  kinds  of  bogs.  But  we  at 
the  Agricultural  College  learn  both  things.  The 
principal  is  so  clever  that  no  one  can  come  near 
him.  At  the  last  Agricultural  Congress  he 
managed  two  questions  whilst  the  other  masters 
of  agriculture  had  only  one  each  ;  and  when  they 
took  time  to  think  things  out,  they  were  always 
as  he  said.  But  at  the  former  Congress,  when 
he  was  not  present,  they  only  talked  nonsense.- 

99 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

It  is  on  account  of  the  principal's  cleverness  that 
he  has  got  the  lieutenant  who  teaches  land- 
surveying;  for  the  other  schools  have  no  lieu- 
tenant. But  he  is  so  clever  that  they  say  he  was 
the  very  best  in  the  school  for  lieutenants. 

"  The  schoolmaster  asks  whether  I  go  to  church. 
Yes,  certainly  I  go  to  church,  for  now  the 
minister  has  got  an  assistant,  and  he  preaches  so 
that  all  the  people  in  churrh  are  frightened,  and 
that  is  a  pleasure  to  hear.  He  is  of  the  new 
religion  that  they  have  in  Christiania,  and  people 
think  he  is  too  severe,  but  it  does  them  good  all 
the  same. 

"At  present  we  are  learning  a  good  deal  of 

history  which  we  have  not  studied  before,  and  it 

is  strange  to  see  all  that   has  gone  on   in   the 

world,   and  especially  in   our  country.     For  we 

have  always  won  except  when  we  have  lost,  and 

that  was  when   we  were  much  fewer  than  the 

other   people.     Now  we   have  freedom,  and  no 

other  people  have  so  much  of  that  as  we,  except 

America;  but  there  they  are  not  happy.     And 

we  should  love  our  freedom  above  everything. 

zoo 


»  •  »      • 


)       ■»     3     >  V  *    'i 


A    HAPPY    BOY  '\°'   :      '  !'  '.    ,'''?  '  ' 

*'  Now  I  will  close  for  this  time,  for  I  have 
written  a  long  letter.  I  daresay  the  school- 
master will  read  the  letter,  and  when  he  answers 
it  for  you,  let  him  tell  me  some  news  of  the 
neighbours,  for  that  he  never  does. 
''Accept  best  greetings  from 

"  Your  affectionate  son, 

"  E.  Thoresen." 

"My  dear  Parents, 

"  I  must  tell  you  that  there  has  been  an 
examination  here,  and  I  have  come  out  remark- 
ably well  in  many  things,  and  very  well  in  writing 
and  surveying,  but  only  pretty  well  in  composi- 
tion in  the  mother  tongue.  The  principal  says 
that  is  because  I  have  not  read  enough,  and  he 
has  presented  me  with  some  books  by  Ole  Vig 
which  are  splendid,  for  I  understand  everything 
in  them.  The  principal  is  very  kind  to  me,  he 
tells  us  so  many  things.  Everything  in  this 
country  is  on  a  very  small  scale  compared  with 
what  they  have  in  foreign  countries  ;  we  under* 
stand  almost  nothing,  but  learn  everything  from 

lOI 


A    HAPPY    BOY 


the  Scotch  and  Swiss,  and  from  the  Dutch  we 
learn  gardening.  Many  travel  to  these  countries ; 
in  Sweden,  too,  they  are  much  cleverer  than  we, 
and  the  principal  himself  has  been  there.  I 
shall  soon  have  been  here  a  year,  and  it  seems  to 
me  that  I  have  learned  a  great  deal  ;  but  when 
I  hear  of  all  that  the  pupils  know  who  go  out 
after  examination,  and  think  that  even  they 
know  nothing  in  comparison  with  foreigners,  I 
get  quite  discouraged.  And  then  the  soil  is  so 
poor  here  in  Norway  compared  with  what  it  is 
abroad ;  nothing  we  can  do  with  it  pays. 
Besides,  people  have  no  energy.  And  even  it 
they  had,  and  if  the  land  were  much  better,  they 
have  no  capital  to  work  with.  It  is  wonderful 
that  things  go  as  Vv^ell  as  they  do. 

**  I  am  now  in  the  highest  class,  and  it  will  be 
a  year  before  I  have  done  v^ith  it.  But  most  oi 
my  comrades  have  gone,  and  I  am  longing  for 
home.  I  seem  somehow  to  stand  alone,  although 
of  course  I  do  not  really ;  but  it  is  so  strange 
when  one  has  been  away  a  long  time.  I 
thought   at  one  time   that  I  should  become  so 

Z02 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

clever    here,     but    there    seems    Httle    enough 
chance  of  that. 

''What  shall  I  do  when  I  come  away  from 
here?  First,  of  course,  I  shall  come  home. 
Afterwards  I  suppose  I  must  look  out  for  some- 
thing to  do,  but  it  must  not  be  far  away. 

"  Good-bye,  dear  parents.     Greet    those  who 
ask  after  me,  and  tell  them  that  I  am  well,  but 
that  I  am  longing  to  be  home  again. 
"  Your  affectionate  son, 

"  Eyvind  Thoresen  Pladsen." 

"  Dear  Schoolmaster, 

"This  is  to  ask  you  whether  you  will  for- 
ward the  enclosed  letter  and  say  nothing  about  it 
to  anybody.  And  if  you  will  not,  then  you  must 
burn  it. 

"  Eyvind  Thoresen  Pladsen." 

"To   the    highly-honoured    Marit    Knut's- 

daughter    Nordistuen,    at    the    Upper 

Hill  Farms. 

"You  will  be  much  surprised  to  receive  a 

103 


A    HAPPY   BOY 

letter  from  me,  but  you  need  not  be,  for  I  only 
want  to  ask  how  you  are  getting  on  in  every 
respect.  You  must  let  me  know  as  soon  as 
possible.  As  for  myself,  I  have  to  tell  you  that 
I  shall  have  finished  my  course  here  in  a  year. 
**  Most  respectfully, 

**  Eyvind  Pladsen." 

"To   Bachelor    Eyvind   Pladsen,   at   the 

Agricultural  College. 

"  I  have  duly  received  your  letter  from  the 

schoolmaster,  and  I  will  answer  since  you  ask  me 

to.     But  I  am  afraid,  because  you  are  so  learned, 

and  I  have  a  letter-writer,  but  there  is  nothing  in 

it  that  will  do.     So   I  must  try,  and  you  must 

take  the  will  for  the  deed,  but  you  mustn't  show 

it,  or  you  are  not  the  person   I  take  you  for. 

And  you  are   not  to  keep  it  either,  for  then  it 

might  easily  fall  into  some  one's  hands,  but  you 

are   to   burn    it,   you    must    promise    me    that. 

There  are  such  a  lot  of  things  I  should  like  to 

write  about,  but  I  don't  think  I  dare.     We  have 

had  a  good  harvest,  potatoes  are  a  high  price, 

104 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

and  we  have  plenty  of  them  here  at  the  Hill 
Farms.  But  the  bear  has  been  terrible  amongst 
the  cattle  this  summer ;  at  Ole  Nedregaard's  he 
killed  two  head,  and  at  our  cottar's  he  knocked 
one  about  so  that  it  had  to  be  killed.  I  am 
weaving  a  large  web  of  cloth  ;  it  is  like  that 
Scotch  stuff,  and  it  is  difficult.  And  now  I  will 
tell  you  that  I  am  still  at  home,  and  that  others 
would  fain  have  it  otherwise.  Now  I  have  no 
more  to  write  about  this  time  and  so  good-bye. 

*'  Marit  Knut's-daughter. 
*'  P.S. — Be  sure  you  burn  this  letter." 

"To  Agricultural-Student  Eyvind  Pladsen. 
**  I  have  told  you,  Eyvind,  that  whoso 
walks  with  God,  he  has  a  portion  in  the  good 
heritage.  But  now  you  shall  hear  my  counsel, 
and  that  is  :  not  to  take  the  world  with  yearning 
and  tribulation,  but  to  trust  to  God  and  never 
let  your  heart  consume  you,  for  then  you  have 
another  God  besides  Him.  Next,  I  must  tell 
you  that  your  father  and  mother  are  well,  but 
I  have  a  bad  hip ;  for  now  the  war  makes  itself 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

felt  again,  and  all  that  one   has  been   through. 

What  youth  sows  age  reaps,   and  that  both  in 

soul   and   body;    which  latter  now  smarts   and 

aches,  and  tempts  one  to  continual  complaining. 

But  age  must  not  complain,  tor  wounds  instruct 

us   and   aches   preach  patience,   so  that  a  man 

may  have  strength  for  the  last  journey.     To-day 

I  have  taken  up  my  pen  for  many  reasons,  and 

first  and  foremost  on  Marit's  account,  who  has 

become  a  God-fearing  girl,  but  is  as  light-footed 

as   a   reindeer   and   unsettled   in   her  purposes. 

She  would  like  to  hold  to  one,  but  her  nature 

will  not   let   her.     But   I    have  often  seen  that 

with  such  weak  hearts  our  Lord  is  lenient  and 

long-sufFering,  and  never  lets  them  be  tempted 

beyond  their  strength,  so  that  they  are  broken 

in   pieces ;    for   they   are   very   fragile.     I   duly 

gave  her  the  letter,  and  she  hid  it  from  all  save 

her  own  heart.     And  if  God  gives   this  matter 

His  countenance,  I  have  nothing  against  it ;  for 

she  is  a  delight  to  the  eye   of  youth,  as   can 

plainly  be  seen,  and  she  has  plenty  of  earthly 

goods,  and  heavenly  goods  as  well,  for  all  her 

io6 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

instability.  For  the  fear  ot  God  in  her  mind  is 
like  water  in  a  shallow  pond :  it  is  there  when 
it  rains,  but  when  the  sun  shines  it  is  gone. 

**  My  eyes  will  bear  no  more  now  ;  they  see 
well  enough  out  in  the  open,  but  ache  and  water 
over  sm.all  things.  In  conclusion,  I  would  say  to 
you,  Eyvind,  in  all  your  aspirations  and  labours 
take  your  God  with  you  ;  for  it  is  written,  Better 
is  an  handful  with  quietness  than  both  the  hands 
full  with  travail  and  vexation  of  spirit. 
"  Your  old  schoolmaster, 

''  Baard  Andersen  Opdal." 

"To  THE  Highly-Honoured  Marit  Knut's- 

DAUGHTER,  OF  THE  HiLL  FaRMS. 

"  Thank  you  for  your  letter,  which  I  have 

read   and   burnt   as   you    told   me.      You  write 

about  many  things,  but  not  a  word  of  what  I 

wanted  you  to  write   about.     I  dare   not  write 

about   anything    certain   either,    until   I   get   to 

know  something  of  how  it  is  with  3^ou  in  every 

way.      The    schoolmaster's    letter   says   nothing 

that  you  can  take  hold  of;  but  he  praises  you, 

X07 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

and  then  he  says  that  you  are  unstable.  You 
were  that  before.  Now  I  don't  know  what  J 
am  to  beheve,  and  therefore  you  must  write 
for  I  shall  not  be  happy  until  you  write.  At 
present  what  I  most  like  to  remember  is  that 
you  came  on  the  rock  that  last  evening,  and 
what  you  then  said  to  me.  I  will  say  no  more 
this  time,  and  so  good-bye. 

"  Most  respectfully, 

''Eyvind  Pladsen." 

**  To  Bachelor  Eyvind  Thoresen  Pladsen. 
*'  The  schoolmaster  has  given  me  another 
letter  from  you,  and  I  have  now  read  it.  But 
I  don't  understand  it  at  all ;  I  suppose  that  is 
because  I  am  not  learned.  You  want  to  know 
how  I  am  in  every  way  ;  and  I  am  quite  well 
and  strong,  and  have  nothing  whatever  the 
matter  with  me.  I  eat  well,  especially  when  I 
get  milk-food,  and  I  sleep  at  night,  and  some- 
times in  the  day,  too.  I  have  danced  a  great 
deal   this   winter,  for   there   have   been   lots  of 

parties   and   great  goings-on.      I   go   to  church 

io8 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

when  there  is  not  too  much  snow,  but  it  has 
been  deep  this  winter.  Now  I  hope  you  know 
everything,  and  if  you  don't,  then  I  know  nothing 
for  it  but  that  you  must  write  to  me  again. 

'^  Marit  Knut's-daughtp:r." 

"To  THE  Highly-Honoured  Marit  Knut's- 

DAUGHTER. 

"  I  have  received  your  letter,  but  you  seem 
to  want  me  to  be  just  as  wise  as  I  was  before. 
I  dare  not  write  anything  of  what  I  want  to  write 
about,  for  I  do  not  know  you.  But  perhaps  you 
don't  know  me,  either. 

"  You  must  not  believe  that  I  am  any  longer 
the  soft  cheese  out  of  which  you  pressed  water 
when  I  sat  and  watched  you  dance.  I  have 
lain  upon  many  a  shelt  to  dry  since  that  time. 
Nor  yet  am  I  like  those  long-haired  dogs  that 
for  the  slightest  thing  let  their  ears  droop,  and 
slip  away  from  people,  as  I  used  to  do;  I  take 
my  chance  now. 

**  Your  letter  was  playful  enough  ;  but  it  was 

playful  just  where  it  ought  not  to  have  been ;  for 

109 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

you  understand  me  well;  and  you  could  guess 
that  I  did  not  ask  for  fun,  but  because  of  late  I 
can  think  of  nothing  but  what  I  asked  about.  I 
waited  in  deep  anxiety,  and  then  came  nothing 
but  trifling  and  laughter. 

"  Good-bye  Marit  Nordistuen ;  I  shall  not 
look  too  much  at  you,  as  1  did  at  that  dance.  I 
hope  you  may  both  eat  and  sleep  well,  and 
finish  your  new  web  of  cloth,  and  especially  that 
you  may  shovel  away  the  snow  that  lies  before 
the  church  door. 

"  Most  respectfully, 

"  Eyvind  Thoresen  Pladsen." 

"  To  Eyvind  Thoresen,  Student  of  Agricul- 
ture, Agricultural  College. 
"  In  spite  of  my  old  age,  and  weak  eyes,  and 
the  pain  in  my  right  hip,  I  must  yield  to  the 
urgency  of  youth ;  for  it  finds  a  use  for  us  old 
folks  when  it  has  stuck  fast.  It  coaxes  and 
weeps  until  it  has  its  way,  and  then  it  is  off 
again   directly,    and   will   not   listen   to  another 

word. 

no 


A    HAPPY   BOY 

**  Now  it  is  Marit.  She  comes  with  many 
sweet  words  to  get  me  to  write  as  follows,  for 
she  dares  not  write  alone.  1  have  read  your 
letter;  she  thought  she  had  John  Hatlen  or 
some  other  fool  to  deal  with,  and  not  one  whom 
schoolmaster  Baard  had  brought  up,  but  now 
she  finds  she's  mistaken.  Yet  you  have  been 
too  hard  upon  her,  for  there  are  some  girls  who 
joke  in  order  not  to  cry,  and  both  mean  the  same 
thing.  But  I  like  to  see  you  take  serious  things 
seriously,  else  you  cannot  laugh  at  nonsense. 

"  As  to  the  fact  of  3^our  caring  for  each  other, 

that  is  plain  enough  from  many  things.     As  to 

her,  I  have  often  had  my  doubts,  for  she  is  as 

hard  to  grasp  as  the  v/ind  ;  but  now  I  know  that 

she  has  stood  out  against  John  Hatlen,  and  has 

thereby  made  her  grandfather  very  angry.     She 

was  happy  when  your  offer  came,  and  when  she 

joked  it  was  not  with  any  evil  intention,  but  from 

ioy.     She  has  borne  much,  and  she  has  done  so 

in  order  to  wait  for  him  upon  whom  her  heart 

is  set.     And   now  you  will   not   take   her,    but 

throw  her  aside  as  a  naughty  child. 

Ill 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

*'  This  was  what  I  had  to  tell  you.  And  I 
will  add  this  advice,  that  you  should  come  to  an 
understanding  with  her,  for  you  will  probably 
have  plenty  to  contend  with  in  any  case.  I  am 
an  old  man  who  has  seen  three  generations ;  I 
know  folly  and  its  courses. 

**  I  am  to  greet  you  from  your  father  and 
mother,  they  are  longing  for  you.  But  I  would 
not  mention  this  before  for  fear  of  making  you 
unhappy.  You  do  not  know  your  father;  for 
he  is  hke  the  tree  that  gives  no  sigh  before  it  is 
hewn  down.  But  if  you  once  get  a  little  nearer 
him,  then  you  will  learn  to  know  him,  and  you 
will  marvel  as  in  a  rich  place.  He  has  been 
oppressed  and  silent  in  worldly  matters,  but  your 
mother  has  eased  his  mind  from  w^orldly  anxiety, 
and  now  it  grows  clearer  towards  the  evening  oi 
his  day. 

**  My  eyes  are  getting  dim  now,  and  my  hand 
is  weary.  Therefore  I  commit  you  to  Him 
whose  eye  ever  watches,  and  whose  hand  never 
tires. 

*'Baard  Andersen  Ofpal,'* 

112 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

"To  Eyvind  Pladsen. 

"You  seem  to  be  angry  with  me,  and  that 
hurts  me  very  much.  For  I  didn't  mean  it  Hke 
that,  I  meant  it  well.  I  remember  that  I  have 
often  treated  you  ill,  and  therefore  I  will  now 
write  to  you,  but  3^ou  must  not  show  it  to  any- 
body. At  one  time  I  had  everything  my  own 
way,  and  then  I  was  not  good ;  but  now  nobody 
cares  for  me  any  more,  and  now  I  am  unhappy. 
John  Hatlen  has  made  up  a  song  in  mockery  of 
me,  and  all  the  boys  sing  it,  and  1  dare  not  go 
to  any  dances.  Both  the  old  people  know  about 
it,  and  they  scold  me.  But  I  am  sitting  alone, 
and  writing,  and  you  mustn't  show  it. 

"You  have  learnt  much,  and  can  advise  me, 
but  you  are  now  far  away.  I  have  often  been 
down  to  your  parents'  house,  and  I  have  talked 
with  your  mother,  and  we  have  become  good 
friends ;  but  I  did  not  dare  to  say  anything 
because  you  wrote  so  strangely.  The  school- 
master only  makes  fun  of  me,  and  he  knows 
nothing  about  the  song,  for  no  one  in  the  parish 
would  dare  to  sing  such  a   thing   before   him. 

113  H 


A    HAPPY    ROY 

Now  I  am  alone,  and  have  no  one  to  talk  with. 
I  remember  when  we  were  children,  and  you 
were  so  good  to  me,  and  always  used  to  let 
me  sit  in  your  sledge.  I  wish  I  were  a  child 
again. 

*'  I  dare  not  ask  you  to  answer  me  any  more  ; 
because  I  dare  not.  But  if  you  would  answer 
me,  just  once  more,  I  would  never  forget  it, 
Eyvind. 

"  Marit. 

"  Dear,  burn  this  letter ;  I  scarcely  know 
whether  I  dare  send  it." 

*'  Dear  Marit, 

**  Tiianks  for  your  letter  ;   you  wrote  it  in    a 

good  hour.     Now  I  will  tell  you,  Marit,  that  I 

love  you  so  that   I    can   hardly  stay  here   any 

longer,  and  if  only  you  love  me  too,  then  John's 

songs  and  other  evil  words  shall  be  only  leaves 

that  the  tree  bears  too  many  of.     Since  I  got 

your  letter  I  am   like  a  new  creature ;    double 

strength  has  come  to  me,  and  I  fear  no  one  in 

the   wide   world.      When    I   had   sent   my  last 

114 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

letter,  I  repented  it  so  much  that  it  nearly  made 
me  ill.  And  now  you  shall  hear  what  that  led 
to.  The  principal  took  me  aside  and  asked 
what  was  the  matter  with  me  ;  he  thought  I  was 
studying  too  much.  Then  he  told  me  that,  when 
my  year  was  up,  I  might  stay  for  another  and 
pay  nothing ;  I  might  help  him  with  one  thing 
and  another,  and  he  would  teach  me  more.  I 
thought  then  that  work  was  the  only  thing  left 
to  me  and  I  thanked  him  much :  and  even  now 
I  don't  regret  it  although  I  am  longing  for  you, 
for  the  longer  I  am  here  the  better  right  shall  I 
have  to  ask  for  you  one  day.  Now  that  I  am 
so  happy  I  work  for  three,  and  never  will  I  be 
behind  in  anything  !  You  shall  have  a  book  I 
am  reading,  for  there  is  a  great  deal  about  love 
in  it.  At  night  1  read  it  when  the  others  are 
asleep,  and  then  I  read  your  letter  over  again 
too.  Have  you  thought  of  when  we  shall 
meet  ?  1  think  of  it  so  often,  and  you  must  try 
thinking  of  it  too,  and  see  how  delightful  it 
is.  1  am  glad  that  1  managed  to  write  so 
much,  although  it  was  so  hard  ;  for  now  I  can 

115 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

tell  you   all  1   want    to   and   smile  over   it   in 
my  heart. 

"  I  will  give  you  many  books  to  read  so  that 
you  may  see  how  many  crosses  they  have  had 
who  truly  loved  each  other,  and  how  they  have 
rather  died  of  grief  than  give  each  other  up. 
And  so  shall  we  do  also,  and  do  it  with  great 
joy.  It  may  be  nearly  two  years  before  we  see 
each  other,  and  yet  longer  before  we  get  each 
other,  but  with  every  day  that  goes  it  is  one  day 
less  ;  this  is  what  we  must  think  whilst  we 
work. 

"  In  my  next  letter  I  will  tell  you  so  many 
things,  but  to-night  I  have  no  more  paper  and  the 
others  are  asleep.  So  I  will  go  to  bed  and 
think  of  you  and  go  on  thinking  of  you  until  I 
fall  asleep. 

,  ,  **  Your  friend, 

**  Eyvind  Pladsen." 


ii6 


\ 


CHAPTER  IX 

One-  midsummer  Saturday  Thore  Pladsen  rowed 
across  the  lake  to  fetch  his  son,  who  was  to  arrive 
that  afternoon  from  the  Agricultural  College  where 
he  had  now  completed  his  course.  His  mother  had 
had  women  in  to  help  her  for  several  days  before- 
hand, and  everything  was  clean  and  scoured. 
Eyvind's  room  had  long  been  in  readiness,  a  stove 
had  been  put  in  and  there  he  was  to  live.  To- 
day the  mother  had  strewn  fresh  sprigs  on  the 
floor,  put  out  clean  linen  for  use  and  arranged  the 
bed,  looking  out  now  and  then  to  see  it  any  boat 
were  coming  across  the  lake.  Downstairs  there 
was  a  great  table  spread,  and  always  some  finish* 
ing  touch  to  be  given,  or  flies  to  be  chased 
away  ;  and  in  the  best  room  there  was  always 
something     that     needed     dusting.       No     boat 

yet ;    she   leant    against  the  window  frame  and 

117 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

looked  out.     Then  she  heard  a  step  close  beside 
her  on  the  road  and  she  turned  her  head;    it 
was  the  schoolmaster  coming  slowly  down,  lean- 
ing on  a  stick,  for  his  hip  was  troublesome.     His 
shrewd  eyes  looked  calmly  around  ;  he  stopped 
and  rested  on  his  stick  and  nodded  to  her. 
"  Not  come  yet  ?  " 
"No,  1  expect  them  every  minute." 
*•  Good  weather  for  the  hay." 
"  But  hot  walking  for  old  people." 
The  schoolmaster  looked  smilingly  at  her, 
"  Have  young  people  been  out  to-day  ?  " 
"  Yes,  they  have,  but  they've  gone  again." 
"  Of  course,  yes ;  they're  to  meet  this  evening 

somewhere  I  suppose." 

"  Yes,   no   doubt ;     Thore    says  they   sha'n't 

meet  in   his    house    until    they   have    the    old 

people's  consent." 
''  Right,  right ! " 
Presently  the  mother  cried  : 
** There  they  come,  I  really  believe!" 
The  schoolmaster  looked  far  over  the  lake. 
**  Yes,    that's   they  ! "     She   left   the   window 

Ii3 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

and  he  entered  the  house.  When  he  had  rested 
a  Httle  and  had  something  to  drink,  they  went 
down  to  the  lake  whilst  the  boat  scudded  swiftly 
towards  them,  for  both  father  and  son  were 
rowing.  The  rowers  had  thrown  off  their  coats, 
and  the  watered  foamed  under  the  oars  so  that 
the  boat  was  quickly  abreast  of  them.  Eyvind 
turned  his  head  and  looked  up,  and  catching 
sight  of  those  two  at  the  landing-place,  rested 
on  his  oars  and  called  out : 

"  Good  -  day,  mother ;  good  -  day,  school- 
master." 

"  What  a  grown-up  voice  he  has  got,"  said 
the  mother,  her  face  shining.  "  Oh,  look,  look, 
he's  just  as  fair  as  ever  !  "  she  added. 

The  schoolmaster  fended  off  the  boat,  the 
father  shipped  his  oars  ;  Eyvind  sprang  past  him 
ashore,  and  gave  his  hand  first  to  his  mother 
and  then  to  the  schoolmaster.  He  laughed  and 
laughed  again,  and,  quite  against  the  peasants' 
custom,  related  at  once  in  a  stream  of  words 
all  about  his  examinations,  his  journey,  the 
principal's  certificate  and  kind  offers.     He  asked 

J19 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

about  the  year's  crops,  and  all  acquaintances, 
save  one.  The  father  set  about  unloading  the 
boat,  but,  wanting  to  hear  also,  thought  this  could 
stand  over,  and  went  with  the  others.  So  they 
turned  homewards,  Eyvind  laughing  and  pouring 
forth  his  news,  the  mother  laughing  too,  for  she 
did  not  know  what  to  say.  The  schoolmaster 
limped  slowly  along  beside  them,  and  looked 
shrewdly  at  him  ;  his  father  walked  modestly  a 
little  farther  off.  And  so  they  reached  home. 
He  was  delighted  with  all  he  saw ;  first  that 
the  house  had  been  painted,  then  that  the  mill 
had  been  added  to,  then  that  the  leaden  windows 
had  been  taken  out  of  the  downstairs  room, 
and  white  glass  put  in  instead  of  green,  and 
the  window-frames  enlarged.  When  he  went 
indoors  everything  was  strangely  smaller  than 
he  remembered  it,  but  so  cheerful.  The  clock 
clucked  like  a  fat  hen  ;  the  cut-away  chairbacks 
seemed  almost  as  if  they  could  speak  ;  he  knew 
every  cup  upon  the  table ;  the  fireplace  smiled  a 
whitewashed  welcome  ;  branches  were  stuck  all 
along  the  walls,  and  gave  oti  fragrance;  juniper 

120 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

sprigs  were  strewn  on  the  floor  in  token  of 
holiday.  They  sat  down  to  eat,  but  there  was 
not  much  eaten,  for  they  talked  without  inter- 
mission. Each  one  now  examined  him  more  at 
leisure,  noticed  differences  and  likenesses,  and 
observed  what  was  entirely  new  about  him,  even 
to  the  blue  Sunday  clothes  he  was  wearing. 
Once,  when  he  had  told  a  long  story  about  one 
of  his  fine  comrades  and  had  at  last  finished, 
there  was  a  little  pause,  and  his  father  said : 

*'  I  can  scarcely  understand  a  word  of  what 
you  say,  boy  ;  you  talk  so  frightfully  fast." 

They  all  burst  out  laughing,  Eyvind  as  much 
as  any  of  them.  He  knew  quite  well  that  it  was 
true,  but  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  speak  more 
slowly.  All  the  new  things  he  had  seen  and 
learnt  in  his  long  absence  had  so  seized  upon  his 
imagination  and  intelligence,  and  so  shaken  him 
out  of  the  rut  of  custom,  that  powers  which  had 
long  lain  dormant  had,  so  to  speak,  started  out  ol 
their  sleep,  and  his  head  was  incessantly  work- 
ing. And  they  noted,  too,  that  he  had  a  trick 
of    repeating   a   word   or   two   here   and    there 

121 


A   HAPPY   BOY 

without  any  reason,  repeating  it  over  and  over 
again  from  sheer  hurry  ;  it  seemed  as  though  he 
tripped  over  himself.  Sometimes  it  was  comical, 
and  then  he  laughed,  and  it  was  forgotten.  The 
father  and  the  schoolmaster  sat  and  watched 
whether  his  thoughtfulness  had  worn  away,  but 
it  did  not  appear  so.  He  remembered  every- 
thing; he  it  was  who  reminded  them  that  the 
boat  must  be  unloaded.  He  unpacked  his  things 
immediately  and  hung  them  up,  showed  them 
his  books,  his  watch,  and  all  his  new  possessions, 
and  they  were  well  taken  care  of,  his  mother 
said.  He  was  extremely  delighted  with  his 
little  room ;  he  wanted  to  remain  at  home  to 
begin  with,  he  said,  to  help  with  the  haymaking, 
and  to  study.  Where  he  would  go  afterwards 
he  did  not  know,  but  it  was  all  the  same  to 
him.  He  had  acquired  a  rapidity  and  strength 
of  thought  which  was  refreshing,  and  a  vivacity 
in  expressing  his  feelings  which  was  so  good 
to  those  who,  the  whole  year  round,  had  been 
studiously  repressing  theirs.  It  made  the  school- 
master ten  3'ears  younger. 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

"Well,  weVe  got  50  far  with  him,"  said  he 
beaming,  as  he  rose  to  go. 

When  the  mother  came  in  after  the  usual 
parting  word  on  the  doorstep,  she  called  Eyvind 
into  the  best  room. 

"  Some  one  will  be  expecting  you  at  nine 
o'clock,"  whispered  she. 

"  Where  ?  " 

*'  Up  on  the  rock." 

Eyvind  looked  at  the  clock ;  it  was  getting  on 
for  nine.  He  would  not  wait  indoors,  but  went 
out,  climbed  up  the  rock,  stopped,  and  looked 
down.  The  roof  of  the  house  lay  close  under- 
neath ;  the  bushes  on  the  roof  had  grown 
larger;  all  the  young  trees  round  where  he 
stood  had  grown,  too,  and  he  knew  every  one. 
He  looked  down  over  the  road  which  skirted 
the  rock,  with  the  wood  on  the  other  side.  The 
road  lay  grey  and  solemn,  but  the  wood  was 
clothed  in  all  sorts  of  foliage  ;  the  trees  were 
tall  and  straight.  In  the  little  bay  lay  a  vessel 
with  flapping  sails ;  she  was  laden  with  planks, 

and  waiting  for  a  wind.     He  looked  across  the 

123 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

water  which  had  borne  him  forth  and  back,  h 
lay  still  and  shining.  A  few  sea-birds  wer^ 
hovering  over,  but  without  cries,  for  it  was  late. 
His  father  came  out  of  the  mill,  stopped  at  the 
doorsteps,  looked  out  like  his  son,  then  went 
down  to  the  water  to  see  after  the  boat  for  the 
night.  His  mother  came  out  from  a  side  door 
leading  from  the  kitchen.  She  looked  up  towards 
the  rock  as  she  crossed  the  yard  with  food  for 
the  fowls,  and  again  looked  up,  humming  to  her- 
self. He  sat  down  to  wait.  The  brushwood 
grew  thick  so  that  he  could  not  see  far  in,  but 
he  listened  for  the  slightest  sound.  For  a  long- 
time he  heard  nothing  but  birds,  which  flew  up 
and  disappeared,  and  now  a  squirrel  jumping  from 
one  tree  into  another.  But  at  last,  a  long  way 
off,  there  comes  a  crackling  sound ;  it  stops  a 
moment,  then  crackles  again.  He  rises ;  his 
heart  beats,  and  the  blood  rushes  to  his  head. 
Something  comes  breaking  through  the  bushes 
close  at  hand.  But  it  is  a  large  shaggy  dog 
that  comes  and  looks  up  at  him,  stands  still  on 

three  legs,  and  does  not  move.     It   is  the   dog 

124 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

from  Upper  Hill  Farm;  and  close  behind  him 
there  is  a  crackling  again.  The  dog  turns  his 
head  and  wags  his  tail.     And  here  is  Marit. 

A  bush  had  caught  her  dress ;  she  turned  to 
disengage  herself,  and  so  she  stood  when  he 
first  saw  her.  She  was  bareheaded  and  had  her 
hair  rolled  up  according  to  the  every-day  fashion 
of  girls  ;  she  had  on  a  stout,  checked  bodice 
without  sleeves,  nothing  on  her  neck  but  the 
turned  down  hnen  collar ;  she  had  stolen  away 
from  working  in  the  field,  and  had  not  dared  «,o 
make  herself  fine.  Now  she  looked  up  sideways 
and  smiled  ;  her  white  teeth  and  half-closed  eyes 
shone ;  she  stood  thus  a  moment  disentangling 
herself,  then  she  came  on,  and  got  redder  and 
redder  at  every  step.  He  went  to  meet  her,  and 
took  her  hand  in  both  his  ;  she  looked  down, 
and  so  the}'  stood. 

**  Thanks  for  all  your  letters,"  was  the  first 
thing  he  said,  and  when  she  looked  up  a  little  at 
that,  and  laughed,  he  felt  that  she  was  the  most 
roguish  fairy  he  could  possibly  have  met  in  a 
wood  •,  but  he  was  embarrassed,  and  she  no  less. 

125 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

"  How  tall  you  have  grown !  "  said  she,  but 
she  meant  something  quite  different.  She 
looked  at  him  more  and  more,  and  laughed  more 
and  more,  and  so  did  he  ;  but  they  said  nothing. 
The  dog  had  seated  himself  on  the  edge  of  the 
rock,  and  was  looking  down  at  the  house ; 
Thore  noticed  the  dog's  head  from  the  water 
below,  and  could  not  for  the  life  of  him  imagine 
what  it  was  that  showed  up  on  the  rock. 

But  the  two  had  let  go  each  other^s  hands, 
and  began  by  degrees  to  talk.  And  when  he 
had  once  begun,  Eyvind  soon  talked  so  fast  that 
she  could  not  but  laugh  at  him. 

"Yes,  you  know,  that's  when  I  am  happy, 
really  happy  you  know ;  and  when  it  was  all 
right  between  us  two,  it  was  just  as  it  a  lock  had 
burst  open  inside  me,  burst  open  you  know." 

She  laughed.     Presently  she  said  : 

'*I  know  all  the  letters  you  sent  me  almost 
by  heart." 

"  So    do    I    yours !     But  you   always   wrote 

such  short  ones." 

"  Because  you  always  wanted  them  long." 

126 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

*'And  when  I  wanted  you  to  write  more  about 
anything,  you  always  chopped  round  and  away 
from  it." 

**  I  look  best  when  you  see  my  back,"  said 
the  witch. 

"  But,  by-the-bye,  you've  never  told  me  how 
you  got  rid  of  John  Hatlen." 

"  I  laughed." 
,  *'  What  ?  " 

**  Laughed  ;  don't  you  know  what  it  is  to 
laugh  ?  " 

"  Oh  yes,  I  can  laugh  ! " 

**  Let  me  see  ! " 

"What  an  idea!  I  must  have  something  to 
laugh  at." 

"  I  don't  need  that  when  I'm  happy.' 

"  Are  you  happy  now,  Marit  ?  " 

"  Am  I  laughing  now  ?  " 

**  Yes,  that  you  are  1 "  He  took  both  her 
hands  and  struck  them  together — clap,  clap! — 
whilst  he  looked  at  her. 

At  this  moment  the  dog  began  to  growl,  then 

all  his  hair  bristled  up,  then  he  began  to  bark  at 

127 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

something  right  below ;  he  got  ?,rigrier  and 
angrier  until  at  last  he  was  bee'ide  himself  with 
rage.  Marit  started  back  alarmed,  but  Eyvind 
stepped  forward  and  looked  down.  It  was  at 
his  father  that  the  dog  was  barking ;  he  was 
standing  right  under  the  rock  with  both  hands 
in  his  pockets,  looking  up  at  the  dog. 

"  Are  you  up  there  too  ?  What  mad  dog  is 
that  you've  got  up  there  ?  " 

"  It's  a  dog  from  the  Hill  Farms,"  answered 
Eyvind,  somewhat  abashed. 

*'  How  the  devil  did  he  get  up  there  ?  " 

But  the  mother,  hearing  the  horrible  noise,  had 
looked  out  at  the  kitchen  window,  and  under- 
stood the  situation  ;  so  she  laughed  and  said  : 

"  That  dog  comes  here  every  day,  so  there's 
nothing  to  be  surprised  at." 

"  It's  a  ferocious  dog." 

**  He'll  be  better  if  he's  patted,"  said  Eyvind, 
and  he  patted  him ;  the  dog  left  off  barking  but 
continued  to  growl.  The  father  went  unsus- 
pectingly away,  and  the  two  were  saved  from 
discovery. 

128 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

"That  was  one  time,"  said  Marit  as  they  met 
again. 

*'Do  you  mean  it'll  be  worse  another 
time  ?  " 

"  I  know  some  one  who  will  keep  a  sharp  eye 
on  us." 

"  Your  grandfather  ?  '* 

**  Exactly." 

"  But  he  can't  do  us  any  harm.'* 

"  Not  a  bit." 

"You  promise  me  that?" 

"  Yes,  I  promise  you  that,  Eyvind." 

"  How  lovely  you  are,  Marit !  " 

"That's  what  the  fox  said  to  the  crow,  and 
got  the  cheese." 

"  I  want  the  cheese  too,  I  promise  you  ! " 

"  But  you  won't  get  it." 

"  I  shall  take  it." 

She  turned  her  head,  and  he  did  not  take  it. 

"  I'll  tell  you  something,  Eyvind,"  she  looked 
up  sideways. 

"  Well  ?  " 

"  How  ill-mannered  you've  grown  1 " 

129 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

*'  You'll  give  me  the  cheese  all  the  same." 

"  No,  I  won't ; "  she  turned  away  again.  "  1 
raafiist  go  now,  Eyvind." 

"  I  am  coming  with  you." 

"But  not  beyond  the  wood;  grandfather 
would  see  you." 

"No,  not  beyond  the  wood.  Why,  how 
you're  running,  dear." 

"  We  can't  walk  side  by  side  here." 

"  But  this  isn't  being  together." 

"  Catch  me,  then  I  " 

She  ran,  he  ran  after  her,  and  her  dress  was 
soon  caught  so  that  he  overtook  her. 

"Have  I  taken  you  now  for  always,  Marit?" 
He  had  his  arm  round  her  waist. 

"I  think  so,"  she  said  softly,  and  laughed, 
but  flushed  red,  and  was  instantly  serious  again. 
Well,  now's  the  time,  thought  he,  and  he  tried 
to  kiss  her,  but  she  ducked  her  head  down 
under  his  arm,  laughed  and  ran  away.  But  she 
stopped  at  the  last  trees. 

*'  When  shall  we  meet  again  ? "  she  whis- 
pered. 

130 


A   HAPPY    BOY 

"To-morrow,  to-morrow  I"  he  whispered 
back, 

"  Yes,  to-morrow  !  " 

**  Good-bye,"  and  she  ran  off. 

"  Marit  I " 

She  stopped. 

"Wasn't  it  strange  that  we  met  first  upon 
the  rock  ?  " 

"  Yes,  wasn't  it  ?  "  and  she  ran  on  again. 

He  looked  long  after  her ;  the  dog  ran  on 
in  front,  barking  up  at  her,  and  she  after,  hushing 
him. 

He  turned  round,  took  off  his  cap  and  tossed 
it  in  the  air,  caught  it  and  tossed  it  up  again. 

"  Now,  I  really  believe  I  am  beginning  to  be 
happy,"  said  the  boy;  and  he  sang  as  he  went 
homewards. 


131 


CHAPTER  X 

One  afternoon  later  in  the  summer,  as  the 
mother  and  a  maid  were  raking  up  the  hay,  and 
the  father  and  Eyvind  were  carrying  it  home,  a 
little  barefooted,  bareheaded  boy  came  hopping 
down  the  hill  and  across  the  field  to  Eyvind,  to 
whom  he  handed  a  note. 

*'  You  run  well !  "  said  Eyvind. 

*'  I  am  paid  for  it,"  answered  the  boy.  No 
answer  was  required,  he  said,  so  he  made  his 
way  back  again  over  the  rock ;  for  there  was 
some  one  on  the  road,  he  explained,  whom 
he  did  not  want  to  meet.  Eyvind  opened  the 
note  with  some  trouble,  for  it  was  first  folded 
in  a  strip— then  folded  again,  then  sealed  and 
tied  up. 

Its  contents  were :  **  He  is  on  his  way ;  but 

132 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

it  is  slow  work.     Run  into  the  wood  and  hide 
yourself.  ^ 

*'You  Know  Who." 

*'  No,  I'll  be  hanged  if  I  hide,"  thought  Eyvind, 
looking  defiantly  up  the  hill.  It  was  not  long 
before  an  old  man  came  in  sight  at  the  top  of 
the  hill ;  he  rested,  walked  a  little  way,  then 
rested  again  ;  both  Thore  and  his  wife  stopped 
to  look  at  him.  Thore  presently  smiled;  his 
wife,  on  the  contrary,  changed  colour. 

*'  Do  you  know  him  ?  " 

"  Yes,  one  couldn't  easily  mistake  him." 

The  father  and  son  resumed  their  hay-carry- 
ing, but  the  latter  managed  it  so  that  they  were 
always  one  behind  the  other.  The  old  man 
on  the  hill  drew  slowly  nearer,  like  a  heavy  sou'- 
wester. He  was  very  tall  and  rather  stout ; 
his  legs  were  weak,  and  he  walked  foot  by  foot 
leaning  heavily  on  a  staff.  He  soon  came  so 
near  that  they  could  see  him  distinctly ;  he 
stopped,  took  off  his  cap  and  wiped  his  head 
with  his  handkerchief.     He   was  bald  right   to 

133 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

the  crown  of  his  head ;  had  a  round,  puckered 
face,  small,  glistening,  blinking  eyes  and  bushy 
eyebrows;  he  had  not  lost  a  single  tooth. 
When  he  spoke  it  was  in  a  sharp,  barking  voice 
which  hopped  as  if  over  gravel  and  stones ;  but 
every  now  and  then  it  would  dwell  with  great 
satisfaction  upon  the  letter  "  r,"  rolling  it  out,  as 
it  seemed,  for  yards,  and  at  the  same  time  jump- 
ing from  one  key  to  another.  In  his  younger 
days  he  had  been  well  known  as  a  cheerful  but 
hot-tempered  man ;  in  his  old  age,  contrarieties 
of  many  sorts  had  made  him  passionate  and 
suspicious. 

Thore  and  his  son  had  crossed  and  recrossed 
the  meadow  several  times  before  Ole  came  up 
with  them ;  they  both  knew  quite  well  that  he 
came  for  no  good,  therefore  it  seemed  all  the 
funnier  that  he  could  not  get  at  them.  They 
had  both  to  appear  quite  serious  and  to  speak 
very  softly ;  but  when  this  went  on  and  on 
indefinitely  the  situation  became  irresistibly 
comic.  A  mere  shred  of  a  phrase  that  comes  in 
aptly  is  enough,  under  such   circumstances,  to 

134 


A   HAPPY    BOY 

^et  people  off;  especially  if  there  happens  to  be 
some  danger  in  laughing.  When  at  last  the  old 
man  was  only  a  few  yards  away,  but  seemed 
unable  to  get  nearer,  Eyvind  said  drily  and 
softly : 

"What  a  heavy  load  he  must  be  carrying!" 
and  it  needed  no  more. 

"  You're  surely  out  of  your  senses,"  whispered 
the  father,  although  he  was  himself  laughing. 

''H'm,  h'm!"  coughed  Ole,  on  the  hill- 
side. 

**  He's  tuning  up ! "  whispered  Thore. 

Eyvind  fell  on  his  knees  before  the  haycock, 
buried  his  head  in  it  and  laughed.  His  father 
also  bent  down. 

"Let's  get  into  the  barn,"  whispered  he, 
taking  an  armful  of  hay  and  marching  away 
with  it ;  Eyvind  took  up  a  small  bundle  and  ran 
after  him,  bent  double  with  laughter,  and  threw 
himself  down  in  a  convulsion  as  soon  as  he  got 
into  the  barn.  The  father  was  a  serious  man, 
but  if  anybody  set  him  off  laughing  he  began 
with  a  gurgling,  then  came   longer  but  broken 

135 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

trills  until  they  flowed  together  in  one  roar, 
after  which  came  wave  upon  wave  with  an  ever- 
increasing  back-draught.  Now  he  was  fairly 
set  off;  while  the  son  lay  on  the  floor,  the 
father  stood  over  him,  and  they  both  went  into 
peals  of  laughter.  They  were  subject  every 
now  and  then  to  such  hysterical  fits ;  but  "  this 
one  came  at  the  wrong  time,"  said  the  father. 
At  last  they  did  not  know  what  would  come  oi 
it,  for  the  old  man  must  by  this  time  have  got 
to  the  farm. 

"I  am  not  going  out,"  said  the  father,  "I 
have  no  business  with  him." 

**WeIl,  then,  I  sha'n't  go  either,"  answered 
Eyvind. 

"  H'm,  h'm  ! "  was  heard  just  outside  the 
barn-wall.  The  father  shook  his  finger  at  the 
boy. 

"  Will  you  get  out  with  you  ?  " 

"  Yes,  if  you  go  first." 

"  No,  off*  with  you  !  " 

'*  You  go  first ! "  And  they  brushed  each 
other   down   and   went   solemnly   forth.     When 

136 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

they  had  crossed  the  bridge  *  they  saw  Ole 
standing  facing  the  kitchen  door  as  if  consider- 
ing ;  he  was  holding  his  cap  in  the  hand  with 
which  he  held  his  staff,  wiping  the  sweat  off  his 
bald  head  with  his  handkerchief,  and  at  the 
same  time  rufQing  up  the  bristles  behind  his 
ears  and  on  his  neck,  so  that  they  stuck  out  like 
spikes.  Eyvind  kept  behind  his  father,  who 
had  therefore  to  bear  the  first  brunt;  and  to  get 
it  over  he  said  with  stupendous  solemnity : 

**  This  is  a  long  way  for  a  man  of  your  years 
to  come." 

Ole  turned  round,  looked  keenly  at  him,  and 
put  his  cap  on  straight  before  he  answered : 
"  Yes,  you're  right  there  ! " 

**  You  must  be  tired  ;  won't  you  come  in  ?  " 

**  Oh,  I  can  rest  where  I  am ;  my  errand  is  not 
a  long  one." 

Some  one  was  peeping  from  the  kitchen  door ; 
between  her  and  Thore  stood  old  Ole  with  the 
peak  of  his  cap  over  his  eyes ;  for  the  cap  was 

*  An  inclined  plane  for   driving  hay-carts  up  into  the 
barn. 

137 


A    HAPPY    BC^ 

too  large  now  that  his  hair  was  gone.  He  had 
thus  to  throw  his  head  very  far  back  in  order  to 
see  clearly  ;  he  held  his  staff  pressed  against  his 
side  when  he  was  not  gesticulating,  and  his  one 
gesture  was  to  throw  his  arm  half  out  from  him 
and  hold  it  motionless  as  though  guarding  his 
dignity. 

**  Is  that  your  son  standing  behind  you  ?  "  he 
began,  in  a  resolute  voice. 

''  They  say  so." 

"  He  is  called  Eyvind,  isn't  he  ?  " 

"  Yes,  they  call  him  Eyvind." 

"  He  has  been  at  one  of  these  farming-schools 
down  south  ?  " 

'*  Yes,  I  don't  say  he  hasn't." 

"  Well,  my  girl,  my  granddaughter  Marit,  she 
has  gone  mad  lately." 

"  I  am  sorry  to  hear  it." 

*'  She  won't  marry." 

'*  Really  ?  " 

"  She  won't  have  anything  to  do  with  any  of 
the  farmers'  sons  who  offer  themselves." 

"  Indeed ! " 

138 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

"  And  it's  his  fault,  his — that's  standing  there." 

"  Indeed  ! " 

"They  say  he's  turned  her  head:  yes,  that 
fellow,  your  son  Eyvind." 

*'  The  devil  he  has !  " 

"  Look  here,  I  don't  like  people  running  ofT 
with  horses  when  I  turn  them  out  to  pasture, 
and  I  don't  like  people  running  off  with  my 
daughters  either,  when  I  let  them  go  to  a  dance  ; 
I  don't  like  it  at  all." 

"  No,  of  course  not." 

"  I  can't  go  after  them ;  I  am  old,  I  can't  look 
after  them." 

"  No — no,  no — no  !  " 

*'I  like  things  kept  in  order,  you  know — the 
chopping-block  to  stand  there  and  the  axe  to  lie 
there,  and  the  knife  there ;  and  here  they're  to 
sweep  and  here  they're  to  throw  out  the  rubbish, 
not  at  the  door,  but  over  in  the  corner,  precisely 
there  and  nowhere  else.  So,  when  I  say  to  her  : 
not  him,  but  him !  then  him  it  must  be  and  not 
him !  " 

"  No  doubt." 

139 


A   HAPPY   BOY 

*'But  it  isn't  so.  For  three  years  she  has 
said  no,  and  for  three  years  things  have  been 
amiss  between  us.  This  is  bad  ;  and  it's  he 
that's  to  blame  for  it  all ;  and  I  tell  him  before 
you,  his  father,  that  it's  no  use,  he  must  put  a 
stop  to  it." 

*'  Well,  well." 

Ole  looked  a  moment  at  Thore,  then  he  said, 
**  You  answer  shortly." 

"  I've  nothing  more  to  say." 

Here  Eyvind  could  not  help  laughing,  although 
he  was  in  no  laughing  mood.  But  with  cheerful 
people  fear  ever  borders  on  laughter,  and  now  he 
felt  an  impulse  to  laugh. 

**  What  are  you  laughing  at  ? "  asked  Ole, 
shortly  and  sharply. 

'*  Are  you  laughing  at  me  ?  " 

*'  God  forbid  I  "  but  his  own  answer  made  him 
want  to  laugh  more. 

Ole  saw  this  and  became  furious.  Both 
Thore  and  Eyvind  tried  to  patch  it  up  by  putting 
on  serious  faces  and  inviting  him  to  go  indoors ; 

140 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

but  the   accumulated  wrath   of  three  years  was 
seeking  an  outlet,  and  was  not  to  be  stopped. 

"You  mustn't  think  you're  going  to  make  a 
fool  of  me,"  he  began ;  "  I  am  here  to  do  my 
duty ;  I  am  looking  to  my  grandchild's  happiness 
as  I  understand  it,  and  the  laughter  of  a  young 
puppy  is  not  going  to  hinder  me.  One  doesn't 
bring  up  girls  to  dump  them  down  on  the  first 
cottar's  holding  that  offers,  and  one  doesn't 
manage  a  farm  for  forty  years  to  hand  over 
everything  to  the  first  fellow  that  makes  a  fool 
of  a  girl.  My  daughter  went  and  moped  and 
carried  on  till  she  got  herself  married  to  a 
vagabond,  and  he  drank  them  both  to  ruin,  and 
I  had  to  take  the  child  and  pay  the  piper ;  but 
curse  me  if  my  granddaughter  is  to  go  the 
same  road !  As  sure  as  I  am  Ole  Nordistuen 
of  the  Hill  Farms,  I  tell  you  the  minister  shall 
sooner  call  the  banns  for  the  fairy  folk  up  on 
the  Nordal  forest  than  he  shall  speak  such 
names  from  the  pulpit  as  Marit's  and  yours,  you 
jackanapes !  Are  you  to  go  and  scare  proper 
suitors   away    from   the   farm,   forsooth  ?     Just 

141 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

you  show  your  face  there,  my  man,  and  you'll 
travel  down  the  hill  again  in  a  way  you  won't 
relish.  You  giggling  imp,  you  I  Do  you  sup- 
pose I  don't  know  what  you're  thinking  of,  you 
and  she?  You're  thinking  that  old  Ole  Nor- 
distuen  will  soon  turn  up  his  toes  in  the  church- 
yard, and  then  you'll  trip  away  to  the  altar 
together !  No,  I've  lived  sixty-six  years  now, 
and  I'll  show  you,  boy,  that  HI  live  till  you're 
both  mighty  sick  of  it !  And,  what's  more,  you 
can  hang  about  the  house  till  all's  blue  and  you 
won't  see  so  much  as  the  sole  of  her  foot,  for  I'll 
send  her  out  of  the  district ;  I'll  send  her  where 
she'll  be  safe,  so  that  you  can  flutter  around  like 
a  laughing  jay  and  marry  the  rain  and  the  north 
wind.  And  now  I've  nothing  more  to  say  to 
you  ;  but  you,  his  father,  you  know  my  mind, 
and  if  you  wish  him  well  you'll  make  him  bend 
the  river  in  the  way  it's  got  to  run  ;  I  warn  it  off 
my  ground." 

He  turned  away  with  short,  quick  steps,  lifting 
his  right  foot  a  little  more  strongly  than  the  left, 
and  muttering  to  himselt. 

142 


A   HAPPY    BOY 

Complete  seriousness  had   fallen   upon   those 
he  left  behind  ;  a  foreboding  of  evil  had  mingled 
itself  with  their  joking  and  laughter,  and  a  blank 
pause  followed  as  after  a  shock  of  terror.     The 
mother,   who   had    heard   all   from    the   kitchen 
door,  looked  anxiously  at  Eyvind  with  tears  in 
her    eyes;   but     she    would    not    make    things 
harder  for  him  by  saying  a  single  word.     They 
all  went  indoors  in  silence,  and  the  father,  seat- 
ing himseli   by   the   window,  looked   after   Ole 
with  a  very  serious  countenance.    Eyvind  watched 
intently  his  slightest  change  of  expression ;  for 
did  not  the  future  of  the  young  people  almost 
depend  upon  his  first  words  ?     If  Thore  added 
his  refusal  to  that  of  Ole,   they  could   scarcely 
hope  to  get  over  it.     His   thoughts   ran  appre- 
hensively from  obstacle  to  obstacle  ;  for  a  mo- 
ment he  saw  only  poverty,  opposition,  misunder- 
standing  and   wounded    self-respect,  and   every 
resource   he  could  think  of  seemed  destined  to 
fail  him.     His  uneasiness  was  increased  by  his 
mother's  standing  there  with  her  hand  on  the  latch 
of  the  kitchen  door,  uncertain  whether  she  had 

143 


A    HAPPY   BOY 

courage  to  stay  in  and  await  the  upshot,  and  by 
her  at  last  losing  heart  and  slipping  out.  Eyvind 
looked  steadily  at  his  father,  who,  it  seemed, 
was  never  going  to  look  round;  nor  did  the 
son  venture  to  speak,  for  he  understood  that  the 
thing  must  be  fully  thought  out.  But  presently 
his  soul  had  run  its  course  of  anxiety  and 
regained  its  firmness,  ''After  all,"  he  thought 
within  himself  as  he  looked  at  his  father's 
knitted  brow,  ''  God  alone  can  part  us."  And 
just  at  this  moment  something  happened.  Thore 
heaved  a  long  sigh,  rose,  looked  into  the  room 
and  met  his  son's  gaze.  He  stopped  and  looked 
long  at  him. 

"  I  should  be  best  pleased  if  you  gave  her  up, 
for  one  ought  not  to  beg  or  bully  oneself  forward 
in  the  world.  But  if  you  won't  give  her  up, 
tell  me  when  you've  made  up  your  mind,  and 
perhaps  I  may  be  able  to  help  you." 

He  went  to  his  work  and  his  son  went  with 
him. 

By  the  evening  Eyvind  had  his  plan  complete : 

he  would  try  for  the  post  of  District  Inspector 

144 


1 

i 

A    HAPPY    BOY  I 

} 
i 


of  Agriculture,  and  would  beg  the  Principal  of 

the  College  and  the  Schoolmaster  to  help  him.  ] 

j 
*'Then,  if  she  holds  out,  with  God's  help  I  will  J 

win  her  through  my  work."  j 

He  waited  in  vain  for  Marit  that  evening,  but  '\ 

as  he  waited  he  sang  his  favourite  song :  > 

i 

i 

Lift  thy  head,  brave  lad,  for  token  i 

That,  if  past-time  hopes  be  broken,  ; 

New  ones  sparkle  in  an  eye,  ) 

That  takes  light  from  God  on  high.  ■} 

Lift  thy  head,  and  gaze  around  thee,  ; 

Something  new  hath  sought  and  found  thee  ;  j 

Something  that  with  myriad  voice  ] 

Bids  the  heart  in  thee  rejoice.  i 

.1 
'i 

Lift  thy  head  ;  for  harps  are  ringing,  ; 

Footsteps  dancing,  voices  singing,  ;i 

And  the  vault  of  heaven  so  blue,  \ 

Is  thine  own  soul  beaming  through.  j 


Lift  thy  head,  and  sing  unchidden  ! 
Spring  disdains  the  winds  frost-ridden  ; 
When  the  sap  is  rich  and  clear 
Burgeoning  shoots  will  greet  the  year. 

Lift  thy  head,  baptized  for  ever 
In  the  flood  of  hope's  bright  river, 
That  across  the  gleaming  world 
Like  a  rainbow  is  unfurled. 


145 


CHAPTER  XI 

It   was   the   middle   of    the   dinner-hour.      The 

people  were  sleeping  at  the  big  Hill  Farm ;  the 

hay  lay  tossed  about  the  meadows  just  as  they 

had   left   it,  and   the   rakes  were   stuck  in   the 

ground.     Down   by   the   barn-bridge   stood  the 

hay-sledges,   the   harness   was   heaped   on    one 

side,  and  the  horses  were  tethered  a  little  way 

off.     Except  the  horses,  and  a  few  hens  which 

had  strayed  into  the  field,  there  was  not  a  living 

creature  to  be  seen  on  the  whole  plain. 

In  the  mountain  above  the  farms  there  was  a 

gap,  through  which  the  road  passed  to  the  Hill 

Farm   saeters,   on    the    great,   grassy  mountain 

meadows.     On  this  day  a  man  stood  in  the  gap, 

and  looked  down  over  the  plain,  as  if  he  were 

expecting   somebody.     Behind  him   lay  a  little 

mountain  lake,  from  which  flowed  the  beck  that 

146 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

formed  the  ravine.  Around  this  lake,  on  both 
sides,  cattle-paths  led  up  towards  the  saeters, 
which  he  could  see  in  the  far  distance.  There 
was  a  shouting  and  barking  away  beyond  him, 
bells  tinkled  along  the  hillsides,  for  the  cows 
were  hurrying  to  seek  the  water,  while  the  dogs 
and  herd-boys  tried  to  collect  them,  but  in  vain. 
The  cows  came  tearing  along  with  the  most 
wonderful  antics,  made  leaps  where  the  ground 
was  rough,  and  ran,  with  short  and  fierce  bellow- 
ings  and  their  tails  in  the  air,  right  down  into 
the  water,  where  they  remained  standing.  Their 
bells  chimed  over  the  surface  of  the  lake  every 
time  they  moved  their  heads.  The  dogs  drank 
a  little,  but  remained  on  dry  land.  The  herd- 
boys  followed,  and  seated  themselves  on  the 
warm,  smooth  rock.  Here  they  took  out  their 
provisions,  exchanged  with  each  other,  bragged 
about  their  dogs,  their  oxen,  and  their  people 
at  home.  They  presently  undressed,  and  jumped 
into  the  water  beside  the  cows.  The  dogs 
would  not  come  into  the  water,  but  poked  lazily 
about  with  drooping  heads,  hot  eyes,  and  tongues 

147 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

hanging  out  on  one  side.     On  the  surrounding 

leas   no   bird   was   to   be  seen ;   no  sound  was 

heard  but  the  youngster's  chatter  and  the  tinkling 

of   the    bells.     The   heather   was   withered   and 

burnt   up.      The   sun   shone   bakingly    on    the 

expanses  of   the  rock,   so  that  everything  was 

sufTocatingly  hot.  ' 

It  was  Eyvind  who  sat  up  here  in  the  midday 

sun,   and   waited.     He   sat   in   his   shirt-sleeves 

close  by  the  beck  that  flowed  out  of  the  lake. 

No  one  was  as  yet  to  be  seen  on  the  Hill  Farm 

plain,  and  he  was  beginning  to  be  a  little  afraid, 

when  suddenly  a  large  dog  came  heavily  out  of 

a  door  at  Nordistuen,   and  after  it  a  girl  with 

white  sleeves.     She  ran  over  the  grassy  hillocks 

towards  the  mountain.     He  wanted  very  much 

to  shout  to  her,  but  he  dared  not.     He  watched 

the   house   attentively  to  see  whether  any  one 

should  chance  to  come  out  and  notice  her ;  but 

she  was  sheltered  from  view.     He,  too,  lost  sight 

of  her,  and  rose  several  times  in  his  impatience 

to  watch  for  her  coming. 

At  last  she  came,  working  her  way  up  along 

148 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

the  bed  of  the  stream,  the  dog,  a  little  in  front, 
sniffing  the  air,  she  holding  by  the  bushes,  and 
with  ever-wearier  pace.  Eyvind  ran  down ;  the 
dog  growled  and  was  hushed,  and  directly 
Marit  saw  him  she  sat  down  on  a  large  stone, 
her  face  all  flushed,  wearied  and  overcome  by 
the  heat.  He  swung  himself  up  on  the  stone 
beside  her. 

**  Thank  you  for  coming  ! " 

"  What  heat,  and  what  a  road  !  Have  you 
been  waiting  long  ?  " 

**  No.  Since  they  watch  us  in  the  evening 
we  must  use  the  dinner-hour.  But  I  think  that 
henceforward  we  oughtn't  to  be  so  secret  and 
take  so  much  trouble  :  that's  just  what  I  wanted 
to  talk  to  you  about." 

"  Not  secret  ?  " 

"  I  know  things  please  you  best  when  there's 
a  touch  of  mystery  about  them  ;  but  to  show 
courage  pleases  you  too.  I  have  a  lot  to  say 
to  you  to-day,  and  you  must  listen." 

"  Is  it  true  that  you  are  trying  for  the  post  of 
District  Inspector?" 

149 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

"  Yes ;  and  I  shall  get  it  too.  I  have  a 
double  object  in  that :  first,  to  make  a  position 
for  myself,  and  after  that,  and  more  especially, 
to  accomplish  something  that  your  grandfather 
can  see  and  appreciate.  It's  a  lucky  thing  that 
most  of  the  owners  of  the  Hill  Farms  are  young 
people  who  want  improvements  and  are  seeking 
help  ;  they  have  money,  too.  So  I  shall  begin 
there.  I  will  look  after  everything,  from  their 
cowhouses  to  their  irrigation-channels.  I  shall 
give  lectures  and  keep  things  going.  I  shall, 
so  to  speak,  besiege  the  old  man  with  good 
work." 

** That's  bravely  spoken.     Goon,  Eyvind." 

*'  Well,  the  rest  concerns  us  two.  You  mustn't 
go  away " 

*'  But  if  he  orders  me  to  ?  " 

"  Nor  keep  anything  secret  about  yourself  and 


me. 


"  But  if  he  persecutes  me  ?  " 

"We  shall  produce  more  effect  and  make  our 
position  better  by  letting  everything  be  open. 
We  should  make  a  point  of  being  so  much  under 

150 


i 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

people's  eyes  that  they  can't  help  talking  of  how 
we  love  each  other ;  they  will  wish  us  well  all 
the  more.  You  must  not  go  away.  When 
people  are  apart  there  is  always  a  danger  ot 
gossip  coming  between  them.  For  the  first 
year  we  should  not  believe  anything,  but  in  the 
second  year  we  might  gradually  begin  to  believe 
a  little.  We  two  will  meet  once  a  week,  and 
laugh  away  all  the  mischief  they  will  try  to 
make  between  us.  We  shall  be  able  to  meet  at 
dances,  and  foot  it  so  that  it  rings  again,  whilst 
our  backbiters  sit  around  and  look  on.  We 
shall  meet  at  the  church,  and  greet  each  other 
in  the  sight  of  all  those  who  wish  us  a  hundred 
miles  apart.  If  any  one  makes  up  a  song  about 
us,  we  will  lay  our  heads  together,  and  try  to 
make  up  one  in  answer  ;  we're  sure  to  manage  it 
if  we  help  each  other.  No  one  can  hurt  us  if 
we  hold  together,  and  let  people  see  that  we  do. 
Unhappy  lovers  are  always  either  timid  people 
or  weak  people,  or  unhealthy  people,  or  calculat- 
ing people  who  wait  for  a  certain  opportunity ; 
or  crafty  people  who  at  last  burn  their  fingers 

151 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

with  their  own  cunning,  or  ease-loving  people 
who  don't  care  enough  about  each  other  to 
forget  differences  of  wealth  and  station.  They 
go  and  hide  :  themselves,  and  send  letters,  and 
tremble  at  a  word ;  and  this  terror,  this  per- 
petual unrest  and  pricking  in  the  blood  they 
come  at  last  to  take  for  love  ;  they  are  unhappy 
and  melt  away  like  sugar.  Pooh !  If  they 
really  loved  each  other  they  would  not  be  afraid, 
they  would  laugh;  in  every  smile  and  every 
work,  people  should  see  the  church-door  loom- 
ing ahead,  I've  read  about  it  in  books,  and 
IVe  seen  it  too :  it's  a  poor  sort  of  love  that 
goes  the  back  way.  It  must  begin  in  secrecy 
because  it  begins  in  timidity,  but  it  must  live  in 
openness  because  it  lives  in  joy.  It  is  like  the 
changing  of  the  leaves :  those  that  are  to  grow 
cannot  hide  themselves,  and  you  see  how  all 
the  dry  leaves  hanging  to  the  trees  fall  off  the 
moment  the  sprouting  begins.  He  to  whom 
love  comes  lets  drop  whatever  old,  dead  rubbish 
he  may  have  clung  to;  when  the  sap  starts 
and  throbs,  do  you  think  no  one  is  to  notice  it  ? 

152 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

Ha,  girl,  they'll  be  happy  at  seeing  us  happy  I 
Two  lovers  who  hold  out  against  the  world  do 
people  a  positive  service,  for  they  give  them  a 
poem  which  their  children  learn  by  heart  to 
shame  the  unbelieving  parents.  I  have  read  of 
so  many  such  cases,  and  some  of  them  live, 
too,  in  the  mouths  of  the  people  hereabouts ; 
and  it's  precisely  the  children  of  those  who 
once  caused  all  the  trouble  that  now  tell  the 
stories,  and  are  moved  by  them.  Yes,  Marit, 
we  two  will  shake  hands  upon  it — lil^e  that,  yes 
— and  promise  each  other  to  hold  together,  and 
you'll  see  all  will  come  right.  Hurrah  ! "  He 
wanted  to  put  his  arm  round  her  neck  but  she 
turned  her  head,  and  slipped  down  from  the 
stone. 

He  remained  sitting,  and  she  came  back,  and 
with  her  arms  upon  his  knee  she  stood  and 
talked  to  him,  looking  up  in  his  face. 

"  Tell  me  now,  Eyvind,  if  he's  determined  to 
send  me  away,  what  then  ?  " 

"  Then  you  must  say  no,  straight  out." 

"  Is  that  possible,  dear  ?  " 

153 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

"He  can't  very  well  carry  you  out,  and  put 
you  in  the  carriage." 

"  If  he  doesn't  exactly  do  that,  he  can  compel 
me  in  many  other  ways." 

"  I  don't  think  so.  Of  course  you  owe  him 
obedience  so  long  as  it's  n®  ^n ;  but  you  owe  it 
to  him  also  to  let  him  understand  how  hard  it  is 
for  you  to  be  obedient  in  this  matter.  I  think 
he'll  come  to  his  senses  when  he  sees  that ;  at 
present  he  thinks,  hke  most  people,  that  it's  only 
child's  play.     Show  him  it  is  something  more." 

*'He  isn't  easy  to  manage,  I  can  tell  you. 
He  keeps  me  like  a  tethered  goat." 

"  But  you  slip  your  tether  many  times  a 
day." 

"  No,  I  don't." 

**  Yes ;  every  time  you  secretly  think  of  me 
you  slip  it." 

"  Yes,  that  way.  But  are  you  so  sure  that  I 
think  so  often  of  you  ?  " 

"  You  wouldn't  be  here  else." 

"  My  dear,  didn't  you  send  me  a  message  to 
come  ?  " 

154 


A    HAPPY   BOY 

**  But  you  came  because  your  thoughts  drove 
you." 

"Say  rather  because  the  weather  was  so 
beautiful." 

"  You  said  just  now  that  it  was  too  hot." 

"  To  go  up  hill,  yes ;  but  down  again  ! " 

*'  Then  why  did  you  come  up  ?  " 

**  So  as  to  run  down  again." 

**  Why  haven't  you  run  down  already  ?  " 

"  Because  I  had  to  rest." 

*'  And  talk  with  me  of  love." 

"  There  was  no  reason  why  I  shouldn't  give 
you  the  pleasure  of  listening  to  you." 

"  Whilst  the  birds  were  singing  " — "  and  the 
folk  slept  sound  " — "  and  the  bells  v/ere  ring- 
ing"— "in  the  woods  around." 

Here  they  both  saw  Marit's  grandfather  come 
stumping  out  into  the  yard  and  go  to  the  bell- 
rope  to  ring  the  people  up.  The  people  dragged 
themselves  out  of  barns,  sheds  and  rooms,  went 
sleepily  to  the  horses  and  rakes,  dispersed  over 
the  fields,  and  in  a  few  minutes  all  was  life  and 
work  once  more. 

155 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

The  grandfather,  left  alone,  went  from  one  house 
into  another  and  at  last  up  on  the  highest  barn- 
bridge  to  look  out.  A  little  boy  came  running 
to  him,  he  had  probably  called  him.  The  boy,- 
as  they  foresaw,  set  off  in  the  direction  of  Pladsen, 
the  grandfather  meanwhile  searching  round  the 
farm ;  and  as  he  often  looked  upwards  he  seemed 
at  least  to  have  some  suspicion  that  the  black 
speck  up  on  the  Big  Stone  must  be  Marit  and 
Eyvind.  A  second  time  Marit's  big  dog  must 
needs  make  mischief.  He  saw  a  strange  horse 
drive  into  the  Hill  Farm,  and  fancying  himself 
on  active  service  as  watch-dog,  he  began  to  bark 
with  all  his  might.  They  tried  to  hush  him,  but 
he  had  got  angry  and  WGuld  not  leave  off,  the 
grandfather  meanwhile  standing  below  and  star- 
ing straight  up  into  the  air.  But  matters  grew 
worse  and  worse,  for  all  the  herd-boys*  dogs 
were  astonished  to  hear  the  strange  voice  and 
ran  to  the  spot.  When  they  saw  that  it  was  a 
great  wolf-like  giant,  all  the  straight-haired, 
Finnish    dogs    set    upon   him.      Marit   was  so 

frightened  that  she  ran  away  without  any  leave- 

156 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

taking ;  Ey vind  rushed  into  the  thick  of  the  fray 
and  kicked  and  belaboured,  but  they  only  shifted 
their  battle-ground  and  then  met  again  with 
horrible  howls.  He  dashed  alter  them  again^  and 
so  it  went  on  until  they  waltzed  themselves  down 
to  the  edge  ot  the  beck.  Then  he  ran  at  them, 
and  the  consequence  was  that  they  all  rolled 
down  into  the  water  just  at  a  place  where  it  was 
nice  and  deep.  This  parted  them  at  last  and 
they  slunk  away  ashamed  ;  and  so  ended  the 
battle.  Eyvind  went  through  the  wood  till  he 
struck  the  by-road  ;  but  Marit  met  her  grand- 
father up  at  the  farm  fence  ;  and  for  this  she  had 
her  dog  to  thank. 

**  Where  have  you  come  from  ?  " 

"  From  the  wood." 

**  What  were  you  doing  there  ?  " 

*•  Gathering  berries." 

"  That's  not  true." 

"  No  ;  it  isn't  true." 

*•  What  were  you  doing  then  ?  " 

"  I  was  talking  to  some  one." 

"  Was  it  to  that  Pladsen  boy  ?  " 

IS7 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

"Yes." 

"  Look  here  now,  Marit,  to-morrow  you  go 
away." 

"  No." 

"  I  tell  you,  Marit,  you  have  iust  got  to  make 
up  your  mind  to  it — you  shall  go  away." 

**  You  can't  lift  me  into  the  carriage." 

*'  No  ?  can't  I  ?  " 

"  No,  because  you  won't." 

"  Won't  I  ?  Now  look  here,  Marit,  just  for 
the  fun  of  the  thing,  just  for  fun  I  tell  you,  I'll 
thrash  that  beggar-boy  of  yours  within  an  inch 
of  his  life." 

'*  No,  you  wouldn't  dare  to." 

**  Wouldn't  dare  to  ?  Do  you  say  I  wouldn't 
dare  to  ?  Who  would  do  anything  to  me  ? 
Who,  eh  ?  " 

"  The  schoolmaster." 

"  The  schoo — ^schooI — schoolmaster  ?  Do  you 
suppose  he  bothers  himself  about  him  ?  " 

"  Yes ;  it  was  he  who  kept  him  at  the  Agri- 
cultural College." 

**  The  schoolmaster  ?  " 

158 


A    HAPPY   BOY 

"The  schoolmaster." 

*'  Look  here  Marit,  I  won't  have  these  goings- 
on  ;  you  shall  go  out  of  the  place.  You  bring 
me  nothing  but  trouble  and  grief;  it  was  the 
same  with  your  mother  before  you,  nothing  but 
trouble  and  grief.  I  am  an  old  man  ;  I  want  to 
see  you  well  provided  for ;  I  won't  be  the 
laughing-stock  of  the  district  when  I  am  dead 
and  gone,  on  your  account.  I'm  only  thinking 
of  your  own  good ;  you  ought  to  thank  me  for 
that,  Marit.  It  will  soon  be  all  over  with  me, 
and  then  you'll  be  left  alone.  What  would  have 
become  of  your  mother  if  I  hadn't  been  there  to 
help  her?  Be  sensible  nov/,  Marit,  and  attend 
to  what  I  say.  I'm  thinking  only  of  your  own 
good." 

**  No,  you're  not." 

"  Indeed  ?    What  am  I  thinking  of,  then  ?  " 

"You  want  simply  to  have  your  own  way, 
that's  what  you  want ;  and  you  never  trouble 
about  what  /  want." 

*'  So  you're  to  have  a  will  of  your  own,  are 
you,  madam  ?     Of  course  you  understand  what's 

159 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

best  for  you,  you  fool !     I'll  give  you  a  taste  of 

my  stick;  that's  what  I'll  do,  for  all  you're  so 

big  and  bouncing.     Look  here  now,  Marit,  let  me 

talk  sense  to  you.     You're  not  such  a  fool  at 

bottom,  but  you've  got  a  bee  in  your  bonnet. 

You  must  listen  to  me.     I  am  an  old  man,  and 

I  know  what's  what.     I  want  you  to  see  reason. 

I'm  not  so  well  off  as  people  think ;  a  pennyless 

ne'er-do-well  would  soon  run  through  the  little 

I  have ;   your  father  made  a  big  hole  in  it,  he 

did.      Let   us    take   care   of    ourselves    in   this 

world ;  there's  nothing  else  for  it.     It's  all  very 

well  for  the  schoolmaster  to  talk,  he  has  money 

of    his   own  ;    so   has   the   minister;    they  can 

afford  to  preach,  they  can.     But  we,  who  must 

toil  for  our  living,  with  us  it's  another  matter. 

I  am  old,  I  know  a  great  deal,  I  have  seen  many 

things.     Love,  you    know,  love's  all   very  well 

to  talk  about,  yes,  but  it's  worth  -nighty  little ; 

it's   good   enough    for   ministers   and   the   like ; 

peasants    must    take    things    in    another  way. 

First  food,  you  see,  then  God's  Word,  and  then 

a  little  writing  and  reckoning,  and  then  a  little 

1 60 


A   HAPPY   BOY 

love  if  it  happens  so;  but  curse  me  if  it*s  any 
use  to  begin  with  love  and  end  with  food. 
What  do  you  answer  to  that,  Marit?" 

''  I  don't  know." 

"You  don't  know  what  you  ought  to 
answer  ?  " 

•'  Yes,  I  know  that." 

*«  Well,  then  ?  " 

"  Shall  I  say  it  ?  " 

"  Yes,  say  it,  ot  course." 

"  My  whole  heart  is  in  this  love." 

He   stood  a  moment  dismayed,  then   remem 
bered  a  hundred  similar   conversations   with  a 
similar  issue,  shook  his  head,  turned  his  back  on 
her  and  walked  away. 

He  descended  upon  the  labourers,  abused 
the  girls,  thrashed  the  big  dog,  and  nearly 
frightened  the  life  out  of  a  little  hen  which 
had  strayed  into  the  field,  albeit  to  her  he  said 
nothing. 

That  night  when  she  went  up  to  bed  Marit 
was  so  happy  that  she  opened  the  windows, 
leant  on  the  window-sill,  looked  out  and  sang. 

l6l  L 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

She  had  got  hold  of  a  delicate  little  love-song 
and  she  sang  it : 


Art  thou  fond  of  me  ? 

I'll  be  fond  of  thee 
All  the  years  of  life  we  live  together. 

Summer  may  slip  away, 

The  grassy  fields  decay, 
But  memory  holds  the  sports  of  sweet  spring  weather. 

What  you  said  last  year 

Aye  murmurs  in  my  ear, 
Like  a  caged  bird  fluttering  in  my  bosom : 

Sits  and  shakes  its  wings, 

Twitters  there  and  sings, 
Waiting  till  the  sunshine  wakes  the  blossom. 

Litli-litli-lo  !    ^ 

Hearest  thou  ^le  so, 
Boy  behind  the  sheltering  hedge  of  birches  ? 

The  woods  will  flicker  past, 

The  dusk  is  falling  fast, 
Canst  find  the  way  for  which  my  blind  foot  searches 

I  shut  my  window  wide, 

What  do  you  want  beside  ? 
The  sounds  come  back  through  evening's  tender 
gloaming  ; 

With  laughing,  beckoning  notes, 

Their  music  towards  me  floats. 
What  wilt  thou  ?    Ah,  how  sweet  a  night  for  roaming. 


x62 


CHAPTER  XII 

Some  years  have  passed  since  the  last  scene. 

It  is  late  autumn ;  the  schoolmaster  comes  up 
to  Nordistuen,  opens  the  outer  door,  finds  no 
one  at  home ;  opens  another,  finds  no  one  at 
home  ;  goes  on  and  on  to  the  innermost  room  of 
the  long  building,  and  there  sits  Ole  Nordistuen 
alone  by  the  bed,  looking  at  his  hands. 

They  exchange  greetings  ;  the  schoolmaster 
takes  a  stool  and  seats  himself  opposite  Ole. 

"  You  sent  for  me,"  he  says. 

"  Yes,  I  did." 

The  schoolmaster  takes  a  fresh  quid,  looks 
around  the  room,  takes  up  a  book  which  is  lying 
on  the  bench  and  turns  over  the  leaves. 

"  What  was  it  you  wanted  to  say  to  me  ?  " 

"  I  am  lust  thinking  about  it." 

The   schoolmaster    is    very   leisurely  in    his 

163 


A   HAPPY   BOY 

movements,  takes  out  his  spectacles  to  read  the 
title  of  the  book,  polishes  them,  and  puts  them 
on. 

**  You're  getting  old  now,  Ole." 

"  Yes,  it  was  about  that  I  wanted  to  speak 
to  you.  I  am  going  downhill ;  I  shall  soon  be 
bedridden." 

"  Then  you  must  see  to  it  that  you  lie  easy, 
Ole."  He  shuts  the  book  and  sits  looking  at 
the  binding. 

"That's  a  good  book  that  you  have  in  your 

hands." 

"  It's   not   bad  ;   have  you  often  got   beyond 

the  cover,  Ole  ?  " 

"  Yes,  just  lately,  I've " 

The  schoolmaster  lays  down  the  book  and 
puts  by  his  spectacles. 

"Things  are  not  just  as  you  would  wish  with 
you  now,  Ole  ?  " 

"  They  haven't  been  for  as  far  back  as  I  can 
remember." 

"  Oh,  for  a  long  time  it  was  the  same  with 
me.     I  fell  out  with  a  good  friend,  and  waited 

164 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

for  him  to  come  to  me^  and  all  that  time  I 
was  unhappy.  Then  I  contrived  to  go  to  him 
and  then  it  was  all  right." 

Ole  looks  up  and  is  silent. 

The  schoolmaster :  "  How  is  the  farm  getting 
on,  Ole  ?  " 

"  It's  going  downhill,  hke  myself." 

"  Who  is  to  take  it  when  you  are  gone  ?  " 

"  That's  just  what  I  don't  know ;  and  that's 
what's  worrying  me." 

"  Your  neighbours  are  getting  on  well,  Ole." 

"  Yes,  they  have  that  Inspector  of  Agriculture 
to  help  them." 

The  schoolmaster,  turning  indifferently  to- 
wards the  window:  "You  ought  to  have  help 
too,  Ole.  You  can't  get  about  much,  and  you're 
not  up  in  the  new  methods." 

Ole  :  "  There's  no  one  that  would  be  willing 
to  help  me." 

"  Have  you  asked  any  one  ?  " 

Ole  is  silent. 

The  schoolmaster :  "  I  was  like  that,  too, 
with  our  Lord  for  a  long  time.     *  Thou  art  not 

i6s 


A    HAPPY   BOY 

kind  to  me,'  I  said  to  him.  '  Have  you  asked  me 
to  be  ? '  he  replied.  No,  I  had  not ;  so  then  I 
prayed  to  him  and  since  then  all  has  been  well 
with  me." 

Ole  is  silent,  and  the  schoolmaster  too  is  silent 
now. 

At  last  Ole  says : 

"  I  have  a  grandchild  ;  she  knows  what  would 
make  me  happy  before  I  go,  but  she  doesn't 
do  it." 

The  schoolmaster  smiles. 

"  Perhaps  it  would  not  make  her  happy  ?  " 

Ole  is  silent. 

The  schoolmaster:  "There  are  many  things 
that  are  worrying  you,  but  so  far  as  I  can  make 
out  they  are  all  in  the  end  connected  with  the 
farm." 

Ole  says  quietly :   "  It  has  passed  from  father 

to  son  through  many  generations  and  it's  good 

land.     All  the  labour  of  my  fathers,  man   after 

man,  lies  in  the  soil ;  but  now  it  does  not  bear. 

And  when  they  drive  me  away  I  don't  know  who 

is  to  drive  in.     There  is  no  one  of  the  family." 

i66 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

"Your  granddaughter  will  keep  up  the 
family." 

"But  he  who  takes  her,  how  will  he  take  the 
farm  ?  That's  what  I  want  to  know  before  I 
lie  down.  There's  no  time  to  be  lost,  Baard, 
either  for  me  or  for  the  farm." 

They  are  both^.  silent ;  then  the  schoolmaster 
says:  "Shall  we  go  out  a  bit  and  have  a  look 
at  the  farm  in  this  fine  weather  ?  " 

"  Yes,  let  us ;  I  have  workpeople  upon  the 
slopes,  they  are  gathering  in  the  leaves ;  but 
they  don't  work  except  just  when  I  have  my  eye 
on  them." 

He  shambles  about  to  get  his  big  cap  and  his 
stick,  and  says  meanwhile  :  "They  don't  seem  to 
like  working  for  me ;  I  don't  understand  it.'* 

When  they  had  got  out  and  were  turning  the 
corner  of  the  house  he  stopped. 

"  Here,  do  you  see  ?     No  order :   the   wood 

scattered  all  about;  the  axe  not  stuck  into  the 

chopping-block ; "  he  stooped  with  difficulty,  lifted 

it  and  struck  it  firmly  in.     "There   you  see  a 

trap    that    has  fallen    down,   but    no    one  has 

167 


A   HAPPY   BOY 

picked  it  up."  He  did  it  himself.  "And  here, 
the  storehouse.  Do  you  think  the  steps  have 
been  taken  away?"  He  moved  them  aside 
Then  he  stopped,  looked  at  the  schoolmaster 
and  said:  "And  that's  how  things  go  every 
day." 

As  ihey  went  upwards  they  heard  a  merry 
song  from  the  uplands. 

"Come  now,  they're  singing  at  their  work," 
said  the  schoolmaster. 

"  That's  little  Knut  Ostistuen  who  is  singing ; 
he's  gathering  leaves  for  his  father.  My  people 
are  working  over  there ;  you  may  be  sure  they're 
not  singing." 

"  That  song  doesn't  belong  to  these  parts, 
does  it  ?  " 

"  No,  so  I  can  hear." 

"  Eyvind  Pladsen  has  been  over  at  Ostistuen 
a  great,  deal ;  perhaps  it's  one  of  the  songs  he 
brought  into  the  parish ;  there's  plenty  of  sing- 
ing where  he  is." 

To  this  there  was  no  answer. 

The  field  they  were  crossing  was  not  in  good 

x68 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

order;  it  had  been  neglected.  The  school- 
master remarked  upon  it  and  Ole  stopped. 

"  I  haven't  the  strength  to  do  more,"  said  he, 
almost  with  tears.  ''  Strange  workpeople  with 
no  one  to  look  after  them  come  too  expensive. 
But  I  can  tell  you  it's  hard  to  go  over  fields  in 
this  state." 

As  the  talk  now  tell  upon  the  size  of  the 
farm  and  what  parts  stood  most  in  need  ot 
cultivation,  they  decided  to  go  up  on  the  slopes 
and  look  over  the  whole  of  it.  When  at  last 
they  had  reached  a  high  spot  where  they  had  a 
good  view,  tb-^;  old  man  was  moved. 

**  I  am  very  loth  to  go  and  leave  it  like  this. 
We  have  worked  down  there,  I  and  my  fathers, 
but  it  doesn't  show  much  sign  of  it." 

A  song  burst  forth  right  over  their  heads 
witn  the  peculiar  piercingness  of  a  boy's  voice 
when  he  sings  with  all  his  might.  They  were 
not  far  from  the  tree  in  whose  top  little  Knut 
Ostistuen  sat  pulling  leaves  for  his  father,  and 
they  had  to  listen  to  the  boy : 


169 


A    HAPPY   BOY 

When  you  tread  the  mountain-path 

With  a  scrip  to  tarry, 
Put  no  more  within  its  fold 

Than  you  well  can  carry. 
Never  drag  the  valley's  cares, 

Up  steep  precipices  ; 
Hurl  them  in  a  joyous  song, 

Down  the  wild  abysses. 

Birds  shall  greet  you  from  the  bough 

The  hamlet  sounds  grow  shyer, 
The  air  becomes  more  pure  and  sweet 

Ever  as  you  climb  higher. 
Fill  your  happy  breast,  and  sing, 

And  as  your  old  life  closes, 
From  every  bush  dear  childlike  thoughts 

Will  nod  with  cheeks  like  roses. 

If  you  pause,  and  listen  well, 

With  ear  attuned  to  wonder. 
The  mighty  song  of  solitude 

Will  fill  the  void  like  thunder ; 
Even  a  rivulet's  hurrying  course, 

Even  a  stone  down  stealing, 
Will  bring  neglected  duty  by 

As  with  an  organ's  pealing. 

Quake,  but  plead,  thou  timorous  soul, 

Amidst  thy  memories  shield  thee  ; 
Go  on  and  up,  the  better  part 

The  topmost  peak  shall  yield  thecj 
There,  as  of  yore,  with  Jesus  Christ, 

Elias  walks,  and  Moses: 
In  such  a  blest  ecstatic  sight 

Thy  toilsome  journey  closes. 

170 


I 


I 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

Ole  had  sat  down  and  hidden  his  face  in  his 
hands. 

*'I  will  talk  to  you  here,"  said  the  school- 
master, and  sat  down  beside  him. 

***** 

Down  at  Pladsen  Eyvind  had  just  come  home 
from  a  longish  journey  ;  the  post-chaise  was  still 
at  the  door,  whilst  the  horse  rested.  Although 
Eyvind  was  now  making  a  good  income  as 
District  Inspector,  he  still  lived  in  his  little 
room  down  at  Pladsen,  and  gave  a  helping  hand 
between  whiles.  Pladsen  was  under  cultivation 
from  one  end  to  the  other,  but  it  was  so  small 
that  Eyvind  called  the  whole  of  it  Mother's  Doll 
Farm  ;  for  it  was  she  who  specially  looked  after 
the  farming. 

He  had  just  changed  his  clothes ;  his  father 
had  come  in  all  white  and  floury  from  the  mill, 
and  had  also  changed.  They  were  talking  of 
going  for  a  little  walk  before  supper,  when  the 
mother  came  in  quite  pale. 

"  Here  are  strange  visitors  coming.  Just 
look ! " 

X7I 


A    HAPPY   BOY 

Both  men  went  to  the  window,  and  it  was 
Eyvind  who  first  exclaimed :  "  That's  the  school- 
master, and — v»^hy,  I  declare,  yes,  it's  really 
he!" 

**Yes,  it's  old  Ole  Nordistuen,"  said   Thore 

turning  from  the  window  so  as  not  to  be  seen, 

or  the   two   were   already   coming    up    to   the 

house. 

As   he   left   the    window    Eyvind   caught   the 

schoolmaster's  eye.     Baard    smiled,   and    looked 

back   at   old  Ole,  who  was  plodding  along  the 

road  with  his  stick,  taking  his  usual  short  steps, 

and  always  lifting  one  leg  a  little  higher  than 

the  other.     The  schoolmaster  was  heard  to  say 

outside : 

"  He  has  just  come  home." 

And  Ole  said  twice :  "  Well,  well ! " 

They  stood  a  long  time  silent  in  the  passage. 

The  mother  had  crept  over  to  the  corner  where 

the  milk-shelf  was ;  Eyvind  was  in  his  favourite 

position,  with   his  back  against  the  large  table 

and  his  face  towards  the  door;   his  father  sat 

beside  him.     At  last  there  was  a  knock,  and  in 

172 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

walked  the  schoolmaster  and  took  off  his  hat ; 
then  Ole,  and  took  off  his  cap ;  after  which  he 
turned  to  close  the  door.  He  was  slow  in 
turning,  and  was  obviously  embarrassed.  Thore 
rose,  and  asked  them  to  come  in  and  sit  down. 
They  seated  themselves  side  by  side  on  the 
bench  by  the  window.  Thore  sat  down  again. 
And  the  wooing  went  on  as  follows  : 
The  schoolmaster:  "We've  got  fine  weather 
this  autumn  after  all." 

Thore :  "  It  has  settled  now  at  last." 
"  It  will  be  settled  for  some  time,  too,  since 
the  wind  has  gone  over  to  that  quarter." 

"  Have  you  finished  harvesting  up  yonder?  " 
"  No  ;  Ole  Nordistuen  here)  whom  I  daresay 
3'ou  know,  would  be  glad  of  your  help,  Eyvind, 
if  it's  not  inconvenient." 

Eyvind  :  **  If  it  is  desired  I  will  do  what  I 
can. 

"  You  see  it's  not  mere  momentary  help  he 
means.  He  thinks  the  farm  is  not  getting  on 
very  well,  and  he  thinks  that  it's  method  and 
supervision  that's  wanting." 

173 


A    HAPPY   BOY 

feyvind  :  "  Fm  so  much  from  home.*' 

The  schoolmaster  looks  at  Ole.  Feeling  that 
he  must  now  put  in  his  oar,  Ole  clears  his  throat 
a  time  or  two,  and  begins  quickly  and  shortly : 

**  The  idea  was — it  is — yes — the  idea  is  that 
you  should,  in  a  manner  oi  speaking — that  you 
should  make  your  home  up  there  with  us — be 
there  when  you  aren't  out." 

"  Many  thanks  for  the  offer,  but  I  prefer  to 
live  where  I  live  now." 

Ole  looks  at  the  schoolmaster,  who  says: 
"  You  see  Ole's  a  little  confused  to-day.  The 
thing  is  that  he  came  here  once  before,  and  the 
remembrance  of  that  puts  his  words  out  of 
order." 

Ole,  quickly :    "  That's  it,  yes.     I  behaved  like 

an  old  fool.     I  tugged  against  the  girl  so  long 

that  our  life  went  to  splinters.     But  let  bygones 

be  bygones ;   the  wind  breaks  down  the  grain, 

but  not  the  breeze  ;  rain-driblets  do  not  loosen 

big  stones ;   snow  in  May  does  not  lie  long ;  it 

is  not  the  thunder  that  strikes  people  dead." 

They    all    four    laughed.     The    schoolmaster 

174 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

says  :  "  Ole  means  that  you  must  not  think  of  it 
any  more  ;  nor  you  either,  Thore." 

Ole  looks  at  them,  and  does  not  know  whether 
he  dares  begin  again.  Then  Thore  says : 
"  Briars  scratch  with  many  teeth  but  don't  make 
deep  wounds.  There  are  certainly  no  thorns 
left  sticking  in  me." 

Ole :  "  I  didn't  know  the  boy  then.  Now  I 
see  that  what  he  sows  grows ;  autumn  answers 
to  spring ;  he  has  money  in  his  finger-ends,  and 
I  should  like  to  get  hold  of  him." 

Eyvind  looks  at  his  father,  then  at  his  mother ; 
she  looks  from  them  at  the  schoolmaster,  and  then 
they  all  look  at  him, 

"  Ole  means  that  he  has  a  large  farm " 

Ole  interrupts :       *'  A    large    farm,    but    ill 
managed.     I  can  do  no  more.     I  am  old,  and 
my  legs  won't  run  my  head's  errands.     But  it 
would   be   worth    any   one's    while   to   put   his 
shoulder  to  the  wheel  up  there." 

"  The  largest  farm,  by  far,  in  the  district,"  the 
schoolmaster  put  in. 

"The  largest  farm  in  the  district,  that's  just 

175 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

the  difficulty  ;  shoes  that  are  too  big  fall  off; 
it's  well  to  have  a  good  gun,  but  you  must  be 
able  to  lift  it."  Turning  quickly  to  Eyvind : 
**  You  could  give  us  a  hand,  couldn't  you  ?  " 

"  You  want  me  to  be  manager  ?  " 

"  Exactly,  yes  ;  you  would  have  the  farm," 

"  I  should  have  the  farm  ?  " 

"  Exactly,  yes  ;  then  you  would  manage  it." 

^'  But " 

"  Don't  you  want  to  ?  " 

"  Of  course  I  do." 

**Well  well,  then  that's  settled,  as  the  hen 
said  when  she  flew  across  the  lake," 

*'  But " 

Ole  looks  in  surprise  at  the  schoolmaster. 

"  Eyvind  wants  to  know  if  he's  to  have  Marit 
too  ?  " 

Ole  quickly:  "Marit  into  the  bargain,  Marit 
into  the  bargain  !  " 

Then  Eyvind  burst  out  laughing,  and  jumped 

up  from  his  seat,  the  other  three  laughing  with 

him.     Eyvind  rubbed   his   hands  and  went  up 

and  down  repeating  incessantly  : 

176 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

*'  Marit  into  the  bargain,  Marit  into  the 
bargain ! " 

Thore  laughed  with  a  deep  chuckle,  and  the 
mother  up  in  the  corner  kept  her  eyes  fixed  on 
her  son  until  they  filled  with  tears. 

Ole,  very  anxiously :  **  What  do  you  think  ol 
the  farm  ?  " 

"  Splendid  land  !  " 

*'  Splendid  land,  isn't  it  ?  " 

"  Capital  pasturage  !  " 

''Capital  pasturage !     It'll  do,  won't  it  ?" 

"  It  shall  be  the  best  farm  in  the  country." 

"The  best  farm  in  the  country!  Do  you 
think  so  ?     Do  you  mean  it  ?  " 

"  As  sure  as  I  stand  here ! " 

"  Now  isn't  that  just  what  I  said  ?  " 

They  both  talked  equally  fast,  and  fitted  in 
with  each  other  like  a  pair  of  cog-wheels, 

"  But  money,  you  see,  money  ?  I  have  no 
money." 

"  It  goes  slowly  without  money,   but  still  it 

goes." 

"It  goes!  yes,   oi  course   it  goes       But  if 

177  M 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

we   had  money,  it  would   go  quicker,  wouldn't 
it  ?  " 

"  Ever  so  much  quicker." 

**  Ever  so  much  ?     If  only   we   had   money 
Well,  well ;  one  can  chew  even  if  one  hasn't  all 
one's  teeth ;    though   you  only  drive   oxen  you 
get  in  at  last." 

The  mother  was  making  signs  to  Thore,  who 
looked  at  her  sideways,  quickly  and  often,  as  he 
sat  rocking  his  body  and  stroking  his  knees 
with  his  hands ;  the  schoolmaster  blinked  at 
him.  Thore  had  his  mouth  open,  cleared  his 
throat  a  little  and  tried  to  speak ;  but  Ole  and 
Eyvind  answered  each  other  so  incessantly,  and 
laughed  and  made  such  a  noise,  that  no  one 
could  get  a  word  in  edgewise. 

"  Please  be  quiet  a  bit ;  Thore  has  something 
he  wants  to  say,"  the  schoolmaster  puts  in ; 
they  stop  and  look  at  Thore.  He  begins  at  last 
quite  softly : 

"  It's  been  like  this :  here  at  Pladsen  we  have 
had  a  mill ;  latterly  it  has  been  so  that  we  hsive 
had  two.     These  mills  have  always  brought  in  a 

178 


A    HAPPY   BOY 

trifle  in  the  course  of  the  year,  but  neither  my 
father  nor  I  ever  used  any  of  the  money,  except 
the  time  when  Eyvind  was  away.  The  school- 
master has  invested  it  for  me,  and  he  says  it  has 
thriven  well  where  it  is  ;  but  now  it  will  be 
best  for  you,  Eyvind,  to  have  it  for  Nordistuen." 

The  mother  stood  over  in  the  corner,  and 
made  herself  quite  small  whilst  with  sparkling 
loy  she  gazed  at  Thore,  who  was  very  serious 
and  looked  almost  stupid  ;  Ole  Nordistuen  sat 
opposite  him  with  his  mouth  agape.  Eyvind 
was  the  first  to  recover  from  his  astonishment 
and  exclaiming :  "  Doesn't  luck  follow  me  !  "  he 
went  across  the  room  to  his  father,  and  slapped 
him  on  the  shoulder  so  that  it  rang  again. 

*'  Father  I "  said  he,  rubbed  his  hands  and  con- 
tinued to  pace  the  room. 

"  How  much  money  might  there  be  ?  "  asked 
Ole  at  last,  but  softly,  of  the  schoolmaster. 

"  It's  not  so  little." 

"  A  few  hundreds  ? 

"  A  little  more.' 

"  A  little  more  ? — a  little  more,  Eyvind  !  God 

179 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

bless  me,  what  a  farm  we  shall  make   of  it!" 
He  rose  and  laughed  heartily. 

**  I  must  come  up  with  you  to  Marit,"  says 
Eyvind ;  '*  we  can  take  the  post-chaise  that  is 
standing  outside,  we  shall  get  there  quicker." 

"Yes,  quick,  quick!  Do  you,  too,  want  to 
have  everything  quick  ?  " 

"Yes,  quick  as  quick  can  be  !  " 

*'  Quick  as  quick  can  be  I  Exactly  like  me 
when  I  was  young,  exactly !  " 

**  Here's  your  hat  and  stick  ;  now  I'm  going 
to  show  you  the  door  ! " 

"You  show  me  the  door,  ha,  ha!  but  you're 
coming  too,  aren't  you  ?  you're  coming  ?  And 
you  others  too ;  we  must  sit  together  this  even- 
ing, so  long  as  there's  a  spark  in  the  stove  ;  come 
along ! " 

They  promised,  Eyvind  helped  him  into  the 
chaise  and  they  drove  oft  up  to  Nordistuen.  Up 
there  the  big  dog  was  not  the  only  one  to  be  as- 
tonished when  Ole  Nordistuen  drove  into  the 
yard  with  Eyvind  Pladsen.  Whilst  Eyvind 
helped  him  out  of  the  chaise  and  servants  and 

i8o 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

hired  folk  stood  gaping  at  them,  Marit  came  out 
into  the  passage  to  see  why  the  dog  kept  on 
barking  so,  but  she  stopped  as  ii  spell-bound, 
flushed  all  red  and  ran  in  again.  Old  Ole,  how- 
ever, shouted  so  loud  for  her  when  he  came  into 
the  house,  that  she  had  to  come  forward  again. 

"  Go  and  tidy  yourself,  girl :  here  is  he  who 
is  to  have  the  farm  !  '* 

**  Is  that  true  ?  "  said  she,  in  a  ringing  voice, 
without  knowing  what  she  said. 

*'  Yes,  it  is  true,"  answered  Eyvind  and  claps 
his  hands ;  whereupon  she  swings  round  on  her 
toes,  throws  what  she  is  holding  in  her  hands 
far  from  her,  and  runs  out — but  Eyvind  runs 
after  her. 

Shortly  after,  the  schoolmaster,  Thore  and  his 

wife   arrived  ;   the  old  man  had  candles  on  the 

table  which   was   covered   with   a   white   cloth  ; 

wine  and  ale  were  produced,  and  he  himseli  went 

round  continually,  lifting   his   legs  higher  even 

than    usual,    but   always    hfting    the   right    foot 

higher  than  the  left. 

*  *  *  *  « 

i8i 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

Before  this  little  tale  ends  it  may  be  stated 
that  five  weeks  later  Eyvind  and  Marit  were 
married  in  the  parish  church.  The  schoolmaster 
himself  led  the  singing  that  day  as  his  assistant 
was  ill.  His  voice  was  cracked  now,  for  he  was 
old ;  but  Eyvind  thought  it  did  one  good  to  hear 
him.  And  when  he  had  given  his  hand  to  Marit 
and  led  her  up  to  the  altar,  the  schoolmaster 
nodded  to  him  from  the  choir  iust  as  Eyvind  had 
seen  him  do  when  he  was  sorrowfully  watching 
that  dance  ;  he  nodded  back,  whilst  tears  rose  to 
his  eyes. 

Those  tears  at  the  dance  were  the  prelude  to 
these;  and  between  them  lay  his  faith  and  his 
work. 

Here  ends  the  story  of  a  Happy  Boy. 


WOODS  AND  SONS,  LTD.,  PRINTERS,  LONDON,  N.  I. 


7  nAY  USE 

HOME  USE 

CIRCULATION  DEPARTMENT 

MAIN  LIBRARY 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 
1-month  loans  may  be  renewed  by  calling  642-3405. 
6-month  loans  may  be  recharged  by  bringing  books 

to  Circulation  Desk. 

Renewals  and  recharges  may  be  made  4  days  prior 

to  due  date. 

ALL  BOOKS  ARE  SUBJECT  TO  RECALL  7  DAYS 
AFTER  DATE  CHECKED  OUT. 

DEC211974  39 


fO  Cm>«.   u/k.i  i 


Jia 4-:^     I 


A    HAPPY    BOY 

Before  this  little  tale  ends  it  may  be  stated 
that  five  weeks  later  Eyvind  and  Marit  were 
married  in  the  parish  church.  The  schoolmaster 
himself  led  the  singing  that  day  as  his  assistant 
was  ill.  His  voice  was  cracked  now,  for  he  was 
old ;  but  Eyvind  thought  it  did  one  good  to  hear 
him.  And  when  he  had  given  his  hand  to  Marit 
and  led  her  up  to  the  altar,  the  schoolmaster 
nodded  to  him  from  the  choir  iust  as  Eyvind  had 
seen  him  do  when  he  was  sorrowfully  watching 

'•^  dance  ;  he  nodded  back,  whilst  tears  rose  to 

*^  the  dance  were  the  prelud" 
Hy  his  faif^ 


7  nAY  ITSE 


HOME  USE 

CIRCULATION  DEPARTMENT 

MAIN  LIBRARY 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 
1-month  loans  may  be  renewed  by  calling  642-3405. 
6-month  loans  may  be  recharged  by  bringing  books 

to  Circulation  Desk. 

Renewals  and  recharges  may  be  made  4  days  prior 

to  due  date. 

ALL  BOOKS  ARE  SUBJECT  TO  RECALL  7  DAYS 
AFTER  DATE  CHECKED  OUT. 


DEC211974  39 


fO  Cms.   i^... 


Si£l AJJA- 


t| 


LD21 — A-40ni-5,'74 
(R8191L) 


General  Library 
University  of  California 
Berkeley 


^^ii^^ 


■■'%'i's;;ik,^: 


K-Jji-wsF^.  -. 


).;  .^,::.  :,-.,..,v./i)' 


